An Ocean of Fire
by Starryknight86
Summary: A classic Zutara Zuko captures Katara story, AU set between Siege of the North and beginning of season 2
1. Chapter 1

**Ch 1:**

"He's here!"

"Let's go, Katara!"

As Sokka grabbed her hand, Katara turned to Aang one more time.

"You'll be careful, Aang? Don't forget to use your signal if you get into trouble. Zuko has a lot of soldiers. It won't be easy to hold them off. If you have to leave..."

"Katara! He'll be fine! We have to go, now!" Sokka jerked on Katara's arm while worry filled her eyes as she looked at Aang. He grinned at her.

"Don't worry, Katara. I'm too fast for Zuko. I'll see you in less than an hour."

Katara waved goodbye as Sokka pulled her into the forest. The two siblings raced towards the shore. As they ran, Katara couldn't help but feel guilty about leaving Aang to face Zuko alone.

Sokka led her to the edge of a cliff, about twenty feet above the ocean.

"Can you bend from here?" he asked.

Katara gave him an arching look. "Of course, I can! What do you think the word Master means?"

"Hey hey calm down! It's not like I'm a bender. You're the one who's supposed to know about all the Magic and spiritual stuff!"

That made her grin before throwing her own snipe at him.

"Just be quiet and stay out of my way."

Katara stepped up to the very edge and began to breathe deeply. With every inhale, she raised her arms and pulled the water up towards her, steadily getting it closer to her and Sokka.

"You're doing great! Almost there!"

Without breaking her concentration, Katara pulled water from her water skin with one hand and slammed it into Sokka, flushing him backwards.

"What was that for?" he shouted after he was done spitting water.

"Shh" Katara demanded. Sokka muttered something under his breath but Katara ignored him.

It didn't take long for the water to reach them. As soon as it was level with the cliff, Katara froze the top of her pillar. Sokka leapt out onto the ice first and immediately began scrambling to find a way to hang on. Katara gave him another flat look as she followed him onto the ice.

"Sokka, we won't be dropping that fast. You don't need to panic like this. I'll keep the water steady."

"You might lose control! What do I do then? I'm just a poor bendless guy who'll be falling into the ocean over a chunk of ice."

"Sokka!"

"I like to be prepared! Now come on! We're running out of time. Zuko's probably already found Aang!"

Katara scowled but did as requested and began to reverse her movements from before, pushing her arms down as she bended down instead of up, taking them to the surface of the ocean. The last five feet she simply dropped them, smiling as she made Sokka scream.

"Oh, you poor bendless guy," she said.

Sokka simply muttered again, something she didn't catch.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Just remind me to never team up with you again. Let's go."

"Ok, this is the part where you'll want to hang on," Katara told him as she iced her feet to hold her steady. She repeated the process for Sokka, and molded handholds into the ice for him as well. Once Sokka was ready, Katara leaned forward and reached her arms towards the horizon, before snapping them to her sides, sending her ice float shooting across the ocean. She kept near the cliffs, making it nearly impossible for Zuko and his soldiers that were probably scouring the island by now to see them unless they came to the edge.

Katara began to round the island, coming near to the place they'd seen Zuko and his crew disembark. Sokka cried out.

"There's his ship! About fifty yards from the shore!"

"I see it," Katara called back.

"This is the risky part. You have to go fast. Remember, if Zuko sees us, he'll head straight to the beach and come back to his ship."

"I know. Hold on tight!" Katara said before she snapped her arms again, this time keeping them a bit flared behind her. Her fingers were flexed as if they were actually pushing against the water, making Sokka and Katara shoot across the water. She leaned her body towards the direction of the ship and the ice followed her lead. As soon as they had a straight shot to it, Katara straightened and refocused on getting her and her brother to that ship as fast as possible.

"Almost there. Almost there. Almost there," Sokka began to chant.

They had nearly made it to the ship when they heard the horn. Katara looked down at Sokka, dread across both their features.

"They saw us."

"What do we do, Sokka?"

"We hurry," he said grimly.

Katara nodded and brought them swiftly to the side of the ship before shooting the ice up to the deck, simultaneously shattering the ice boots that connected Sokka and her to her ice float. The siblings tumbled onto the deck before leaping up and dashing towards the tower that dominated the back half of the ship. Katara summoned water from the ocean, trying to save what was in her satchel, and blasted open the single door, taking down three guards who were running up behind it to reach the deck.

"Nice shot,"Sokka said with a grin before unsheathing his club. He took the next two guards who came up the hallway at them, bashing them on their heads and knocking them out. Zuko apparently had taken most of his soldiers because no one else came at Katara and Sokka as they headed down the ship. When they reached the engines, Katara wished Sooka luck before dashing further below. Pretty soon, the stairs ended and Katara knew she had reached the bottom of the ship.

"This should be good," she said as she pulled water from her satchel. With swift movements, Katara began to bend the water to slash across the floor, making an x in the ground. She knew she didn't have much time but if she could just break through the metal, she would succeed in sinking the ship.

Katara could sense the metal was extremely thick with every cut she made. She couldn't even feel the ocean that was surrounding her.

The cuts she was making were only a few inches deep when she heard boots stomping on the staircase above her. Furiously, she bended even faster. She could hear them getting closer and knew soon they'd be at the engines. Katara prayed that Sokka had been able to get off the ship. If he could make it to the water, he would be ok. He'd always been a strong swimmer and if they tried any fire attacks on him, Sokka could hold his breath for a very long time.

 _Just a little more_ , Katara thought.

"There's someone down in the hull!"

Katara whipped around in time to see a soldier running at her as he called for reinforcements. He raised a spear, and thrusted it at her. Katara almost smirked as she danced out of the way. The boy soldier trying to take her on could hardly be older than Sokka and was much slower than her brother.

Katara had to make this quick, before any experienced soldiers found her. She swirled her water over her head, freezing it before clubbing it into the poor boy's head, effectively knocking him out. Katara rushed to the stairs and charged up them. Running footsteps were echoing around her and Katara couldn't tell what direction they were coming from. She was nearing the engine level when she met the first wave of defenses. Five soldiers, three firebenders and two foot soldiers rushed down towards her. The fire blasted at her forced her to leap backwards in a spin and then duck to keep from being burned. She quickly stepped into her waterbending stance and circled her water around her waist. Rushing at the soldiers, Katara twisted and lept, knocking the water against her attackers and swiftly taking them down before continuing her mad dash up the stairs. The next few soldiers who came to meet her were rewarded with whippings to their chests, sending them tumbling over the stair railing.

Katara was nearly to the top of the stairs when another group of soldiers caught up to her. They came running up behind her, blasting fire at the door she'd been planning to go through. The metal turned white from the heat of the multiple firebenders. Katara raced up the final few steps before turning her attention to the soldiers. Water spun out in a wave, taking down the first soldiers before Katara recalled it. Forming a wall of ice, Katara used her fists to punch daggers from her wall to stun or pin back the soldiers. She soon realized how swiftly this move was wasting her water and resorted back to whips and jets of water that were easier to return to her meager supply.

More and more soldiers came, never giving her a chance to use her water to cool down the door behind her. It was becoming harder to keep fighting. She couldn't risk her water being turned to steam so whenever fire came at her she was forced to duck, spin, or leap away. The firebenders had now realized this and were attacking with more ferocity every minute.

The fire drove her away from the door and began backing her into a corner. Her moves were becoming desperate as she began to feel exhaustion settling over her. She fought and dodged, slowly giving ground as they pushed her further from the only door she knew of that would allow her to escape.

So consumed was she in keeping herself from getting burned, she almost missed hearing the door open. Katara spun towards it, planning to rush outside and suffer whatever fire came her way but was stopped in her tracks by Zuko's flames, just before his foot came up and smashed her into the wall.  
Darkness ensued instantly.


	2. Chapter 2

Katara woke to find her arms secured behind her, her ankles locked together, and a chain connected to the wall around her neck. She didn't know how long she'd been out, only that her arms were sore and the chill of the metal had seeped into her skin, making her start to shiver. As she looked around, Katara could see a row of cells like the one she was in, all with an assortment of chains and bindings inside, most likely in preparation for benders like her. Suddenly, she remembered her brother.  
"Sokka!" she cried out. "Sokka, where are you?"

Katara listened as hard as she could but no one responded to her shouts. Sokka was either being held somewhere else, or he'd escaped, or he'd been killed. Katara couldn't bear to imagine that. Zuko wouldn't have wanted Sokka dead. He'd want to use him as bait for Aang.  
 _Bait like me_ , Katara thought. She knew Zuko was only keeping her alive to capture Aang.

A door slammed open suddenly, startling Katara. She could hear voices outside the prison compact and then a key being inserted into a lock. Katara quickly feigned sleep as someone began walking the row of cells. Heavy boots clanged the metal floor. As the footsteps stopped, Katara peeked beneath her lashes to see someone stopped right outside her cell.

"Don't even try to pretend to be asleep."

Katara's eyes shot open to glare at Zuko. He stood before her with his arms crossed, the low lighting of the prison making his scowl look even more vicious than usual.

"Next time you want to fake it, don't shout for the whole ship to hear you're awake," Zuko said, rolling his eyes at her.

Katara huffed in annoyance. "Where's my brother, Zuko?"

"It's Prince Zuko. And I'll tell you where your brother is once you tell me where I can find the avatar."

"Why would I call you Prince? You're no prince of mine."

"Where's the Avatar?"

"How should I know? I've been stuck on this ship this whole time."

"It's only been one day."

Katara was surprised. For some reason, it seemed longer. Maybe that explained why her head still ached.

"How long have I been out?" Katara asked.

"I just told you. A day."

Katara banged her head against the back of her cell, which was not a good idea, as it jarred her head. She blinked away the dark spots in her vision.

"In hours. When did you knock me out and what time is it now?" She said, spite lacing her voice.

"I wouldn't know, seeing as I was a little busy trying to defend my ship from you and your idiotic brother."

"My brother's not an idiot! I'll have you know his plans work better than any of yours ever have!" Katara leaned forward as far as she could in her bonds. "Thanks to him, we got onto your ship and wrecked it. Would you say that's idiotic?"

Zuko smirked at her.

"Wrecked my ship? You mean that little X you drew across one of the floors? That wasn't even the bottom of my ship. And your brother unfortunately ran into some trouble before he could damage even one of my engines. If you were paying any sort of attention, you would've realized my ship is still moving. That's not even mentioning that you failed to get off my ship after sneaking on, which gives me a tool to capture the avatar. Tell me again, how is that not an idiotic plan?"

Katara gazed open mouthed at him, horror in her eyes as she suddenly realized that the ship was indeed moving, that the engines were still running.

"All of it? It was for nothing?" she whispered to herself. Zuko apparently heard as he gave a very cutting reply.

"Nothing for you or any of your friends, but it gives me plenty of help. Now tell me where the avatar is."

Anger coursed through Katara. She raised herself up again, her pride showing through even in her chains.

"Tell me where my brother is, and then maybe I'll consider thinking about where the avatar might be," she said.

Zuko glared. "Liar. You'd never sell the avatar out like that."

"Then why are you here, Zuko? Why don't you just give up if you already know I won't tell you anything? Aang is going to save the world. There's nothing you can do about it, and there's no way you'll get any help from me."

"I never give up. The Avatar is mine. I will find him and I will take him. I'm trying to give you a chance to make it easier for you, your brother, and the Avatar."

"Easier? How on earth is this making it easier for Aang?"

"You tell me where he is now, and I promise to release you once I have him. He'll come to no harm on my ship, and you and your brother can carry on with your lives."

"And once Aang is in the Fire Nation? What happens to him then?" Zuko's silence gave her the answer. "That's what I thought."

Zuko kicked the bars of her cell. "He wouldn't be killed. That would restart this whole thing."

"Unless they put him into the Avatar State. The Fire Nation will do anything to secure their victory."

"That's not true!"

"Yes, it is!" Katara shot back. "Even if it wasn't and you could promise Aang's safety, I wouldn't tell you anything! So, stop wasting your time and mine and get out of here!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Does this bore you compared to you endless hours of isolation?" Zuko scowled at her. "Enjoy them. You'll get to appreciate them all the more now that you're awake!" he said as he walked away, slamming the door to the prison behind him.

"Spoiled prince," Katara muttered as he left.

As the hours passed, Katara's anger began to fade, replaced by intense dullness. Her body ached from being restrained for so long. Zuko had been right. This was the worst.

"Get up, peasant." Zuko kicked her arm. This time, Katara hadn't been faking but that only put her in a bad mood at being kicked awake.

¨What do you want?¨ Katara asked angrily.

"Good. You're up." Zuko turned from her and held his hand out to the guard who'd apparently followed him into her cage. "Your keys."

The instant the keys were in his palm, Zuko dismissed the guard who looked only too happy to race away. Whether it was Katara or Zuko that freaked him out, Katara had no idea, but she had a bet that it was Zuko. She watched him as he took off from the prison cells. Just before he shut the door, the man turned back to see what was going on. He jumped in fear when he realized Katara was staring at him. She flushed at being caught as the man slammed the door shut behind him.

"Recognize him?" Zuko asked, twirling the key ring around his finger.

"No. Should I?"

"You did almost drown him in the corridor of my ship. He didn't stop coughing for hours. It took all kinds of persuasive tactics to get him down here. He's quite afraid of you."

Katara felt bad about that. She hadn't meant to really hurt him. She just needed him out of her way. Stupid Zuko! He knew how hard that'd hit her, and now she felt guilty.

Before she could give away how much that bothered her, Katara huffed at Zuko in disbelief.

"Oh sure. Persuasive tactics, that's a good one. Why don't you just come out and say you threatened him?"

Zuko snapped the keys down into his fist and thrusted his hands down to his sides, bending over Katara as he did so. "I don't threaten my men! What kind of loyalty would that get me?" He straightened. "Threats only work for so long before someone starts a fight for a change."

"So does being a jerk."

"Think whatever you want of me. I honestly couldn't care."

"If you don't threaten, how did you get him down here if he's so scared of me? And how do you know it's me? Maybe he's terrified of you and you're just using it as an excuse to try and make me feel bad."

"First of all, you don't need to know how I command my ship, so forget about trying to figure any of that out. Second, not everyone sees me as an enemy. To many people, I'm a hero for trying to capture the avatar."

"You're no hero, whatever fantasies you may believe. All you and your precious nation want is more power. And all you'll use that power for is to oppress more innocent people."

"The Fire Nation is a respectable country. We the strongest of the strong, noblest of the noble and the world deserves to share our greatness."

"Share? Share?! You're forcing your land's beliefs on other people! Is that what they teach you in whatever schools you go to?"

"A peasant like you could never understand."

"Try me. I'm not as stupid as you think, Zuko."

"Oh, I think you're pretty stupid."

Katara opened her mouth to retaliate but Zuko cut her off.

"Enough of this. I did not come down here to hear you ravage over my homeland."

"Then what did you come down here for, _your highness,_ " she spat at him.

"As a matter of fact, I actually came down here to offer you a deal…"

"You can forget it. I'm not making any deals with you."

"You'll want to hear this one."

Katara snorted before leaning back and closing her eyes as if to go back to sleep. Zuko kicked her again and Katara's eyes shot open. "Would you stop that?" she demanded.

"I came down here to consider giving you a few minutes up on deck to stretch your legs! You've given me nothing but mockery!"

Katara looked at him in shock.

Now it was Zuko's turn to roll his eyes. "I'm no barbarian."

"What's in it for you?"

"I told you…"

"No, you've told me nothing! After everything you've gone through to get to Aang, I know this is some ploy to capture him, and I want nothing of it!"

"You could lose your bending," Zuko said quietly, folding his arms. "Are you willing to risk that?"

"What do you mean?" Katara gazed at him in disbelief.

"Lose circulation in your hands for too long, they become useless, and you can no longer bend. I'm offering you a chance to keep that from happening."

That stopped Katara cold. She tried wriggling her hands to see if she had any feeling left and got nothing. Her eyes widened in terror. She looked up in a panic at Zuko who was smirking at her, playing with the keys again.

"All I need is one piece of information about that Avatar that will help me in his capture."

Rage replaced Katara's panic. "I knew it. That's all you care about. Well you can forget it. I don't care if I lose my bending. I don't care about what happens to me. I'll never betray him."

Zuko glared at her as if that would force her into giving away what she knew. When all he got was a glare back, he turned angrily away and left her. Katara kept herself raised until she heard the door slam. Once she knew Zuko was gone, she slumped, only held up by the chains.

"I'm sorry Sokka, but I can't let Zuko get him. I'll find a way out of here soon for us. I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

"Perhaps you shouldn't go in there alone, sir. I'm not sure the Prince would be happy with us allowing that."

Katara heard someone laugh lightly. "I believe I'm plenty able to handle a teenager. Whether they be waterbender or firebender, but I appreciate your concern. Your keys if you will."

The door to the prison opened wider and an older man walked in. Katara had seen him many times helping Zuko and was instantly on guard.

"Good morning, miss waterbender. How are you feeling?" the man asked as he came up to her cell.

Katara stared stubbornly at him, refusing to answer.

"I see you are as determined as Prince Zuko said you were." The man smiled at her. "Rest assured, I'm not in search of the Avatar. I'm only here to care for my nephew."

"Nephew?" Katara said in shock, forgetting to keep silent. She snapped her mouth shut, frustrated with herself. The older man smiled wider as he unlocked her cell and came in.

"Yes. I am General Iroh. Prince Zuko is my nephew. I'm pleased to meet you, miss waterbender." General Iroh bowed to her. Katara finally admitted herself a smile. From the times she'd seen him, it was true that he'd never truly tried to attack Aang and his kindness seemed genuine. Katara worried for a moment it was a trap, but she was so tired of Zuko's rudeness. She'd just be careful to watch the General carefully and her words. Even if he was kind, she knew there was nothing he could get from her that would hurt Aang or her brother. She had to protect them as best she could, no matter how kind anyone was to her. That didn't mean she couldn't be kind back, however.

Katara inclined her head, giving the best bow she could chained up. "An honor to meet you as well, General Iroh. I'm Katara of the Southern Water Tribe."

"Please simply call me Iroh, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe."

"Simply Katara."

"Very well, Simply Katara."

Katara couldn't help but smile prompting Iroh to smile wider.

"I'm here to escort you to the deck."

Katara tilted her head, her smile hinting at the anger she felt. "Really? I thought Zuko…"

"My nephew is unfortunately occupied at the moment in his room. He's charting a course to set up a trap for the Avatar, one he's sure he won't escape from. He's not taking any chances this time. This is the closest he's ever been. He won't be out for a while."

"Iroh, you are devious," Katara said. "I'd be honored to let you escort me."

Iroh chuckled and used the keys to unshackle Katara, giving her an arm to help her stand. As Katara tried to reach up, she found she could barely raise her hands to grasp his arm. She gasped as she tried to stand. She couldn't feel anything. Her eyes widened as she thought of what this meant for her bending. Iroh bent down and grasped her arms, pulling her up.

"Easy there, Katara. We'll get that blood flowing again, don't you worry. Aika!" Iroh called out into the hall. A few moments later a guard ran into the cell. Katara couldn't see their face behind the white face mask all the firebenders on Fire Nation ships wore. The guard, realizing that there wasn't any immediate danger straightened from their battle stance and instead bowed to the General.

"You called, sir?" said the guard in a feminine voice.

"Indeed, I did. If you'd please remove your helmet?"

Aika pulled her helmet off to reveal a face that put her about ten years Katara's senior.

"Aika, would you mind giving Katara here a supporting arm as we take her up on deck. I feel that she'd be more comfortable being lifted by a young lady such as yourself."

Katara grimaced. Aika smiled at her and nodded. "Absolutely, sir." Aika bent down and pulled one of Katara's arms around her shoulders. Katara yelped as she felt blood moving in her legs, sending the feeling of pins sticking her all over. Aika immediately froze.

"Sorry! I'm ok. Just waking up my body," Katara said as she tried to shake out one of her legs.

"We'll go slow. Just keep leaning on me as much as you need until you're ready, alright?"

Katara nodded, setting her jaw as she began to shuffle her feet forward, Aika taking almost all her weight.

The stairs were torture. To Katara, it had seemed that Aika had literally had to drag her up every single flight, Katara's ankles clanging against the edge of each step. Aika had been worried at first but Katara assured her that the sharp jabs of pain were better than having no feeling at all. Her legs steadily gained strength again and by the final flight, Katara was controlling her feet to walk up each step, though Aika still had to support her the whole way.

It was completely worth it, just to walk outside. When Iroh opened the door, Katara was blinded by the sunlight. She squinted as Aika led her onto the deck and immediately felt a breeze blow across her face. Katara closed her eyes and smiled, enjoying the feeling of fresh air flowing around her. She inhaled deeply.

Opening her eyes, Katara saw the sea glistening all around her. With her blood moving again, Katara was beginning to sense the push and pull of the waves against the ship and knew her bending hadn't been lost yet.

"I think I'm ready to try a few steps myself now," Katara said, loosening her hold on Aika. Aika nodded and gently let go, staying right by her side in case Katara couldn't handle it.

Katara's first step was incredibly wobbly. She found herself having to use all her core strength to keep her balance. Her second and third steps were better but on her fourth, she stumbled and nearly fell. Strong arms caught her and Katara looked up, expecting to thank Aika but was instead greeted by an angry, scarred face.

"Uncle! What is she doing on deck?" Zuko demanded. "Where are her chains?"

"Calm down, Prince Zuko. I was merely letting her have a few moments in the sun and fresh air."

Katara tried to tug herself away from Zuko's grasp but was still too weak to do anything more than get his attention. Zuko scowled at her before dropping her down on the ground and stepping over her to face his uncle.

"Are you crazy? She's a waterbender and you brought her up to a place where she can see the water surrounding us."

"Prince Zuko, she cannot harm us. Look at her, she can barely walk on her own."

Zuko paused to look back at where he'd left Katara who was now struggling to push herself into an upright position. She caught him watching her right before her hands slipped and she fell back down to the deck. Katara raised her head and glared back at him. She was surprised as an emotion crossed his face and seemed to soften his features for a moment before it was gone and Katara could only imagine what it meant.

As Zuko turned back to continue arguing with his uncle, Katara blocked out their voices and rested her head back on the deck. She curled her fingers into fists and closed her eyes again, breathing deeply.

"Tui and La, Push and Pull," she whispered to herself.

 _The ocean is all around me. I can use it. I am a waterbender. Push and Pull,_ she thought. Katara began matching her breath to the waves hitting the ship. In with every hit, out with every pull. She could feel the water moving. She could imagine it moving within herself. Suddenly, with a deep breath in as a much stronger wave crashed into the side of the deck, spilling over the edge, Katara felt as if the water inside shot around her body, awakening every nerve in one blow. It was all Katara could do not to cry out as the pins shot through her.

Katara's waterbending senses erupted. She could feel the water that had been washed on deck and pulled it slowly towards her whenever the ship tilted that way to hide her movements. She left the waves hitting the ship even stronger and began matching them with her breath. In, she pulled the waves against the side, out, she pushed them back.

Katara smiled. The water was now pooling under her stomach, drenching her tunic and giving her a much-needed rinsing, she figured. She knew it wasn't enough. So, she pulled a big wave into the side of the ship and drew all the water she could without being seen. Now the puddle spread out in a circle about twelve feet across and a few inches deep. Katara raised her head out of the puddle and looked carefully at Zuko, Iroh, and Aika. None of them were paying her the slightest bit of attention as they were all too heated in their fighting.

Quick as a flash, Katara stood up and gathered the water around her arms. Aika saw her out of the corner of her eye and cried out, rushing her prince and knocking him out of the way of the blast Katara shot at the three of them. Poor Iroh took the full brunt of it, knocking him backwards, almost overboard.

Katara winced but she knew it was necessary. She swiftly froze the water around Iroh and iced down Aika who was on top of Zuko, pinning them both down before turning and running back into the hold, shouting Sokka's name. She dashed down the many flights of stairs, opening any doors she came by, becoming more and more flustered. If she was caught down here, it would be just like before. Katara knew she didn't have enough water to fight against a sustained firebending attack.

Footsteps sounded above her, pounding the floor in search of a waterbender and Katara choked back a sob. There wasn't enough time to keep searching, but she knew that if she got off the ship and found Aang, they'd have a much better shot at saving Sokka than she could have on her own. She felt as if she were being torn. She knew she would rather die than abandon her brother to suffer Zuko's torment alone, but she also knew that Zuko would keep him alive and give her a real chance to save him.

With her heart aching, Katara began rushing back up the stairs. Tears were streaming down her face, making it hard to see where she was going so she bended them away and added them to her water supply. Her now emotional pain was so strong that Katara barely cared when the soldiers began appearing, reacting instinctively as she fought them and continued her race up the stairs.

And then Zuko was there, leaping at her, flames in his fists and fire at his feet. Katara jumped backwards, dodging the mad firebender. She twisted the water around her and dashed at Zuko, grabbing one of his fists with a hand gloved in water, hissing out the flames there. Zuko threw his arm to the side and Katara yelled as she was yanked off her feet and slammed into the wall, momentarily losing her connection to the water.

Zuko grabbed her by her shoulders and lifted her as if she weighed nothing, slamming her back into the wall. Katara gritted her teeth and raised her hands to start bending again. Zuko's feet shot a wave of flame outward, steaming practically all of Katara's water. He shifted his grip to her hands and slammed them outward onto the wall.

"You know if you'd had actually behaved, I might've let this become a regular activity for you," he growled at her.

"I'm never going to not try and escape, Zuko. I plan on doing everything I can to get out of here."

"Well thanks to that little show, you won't have any more chances. Not to mention, don't think your brother won't be left alone for this."

Katara eyes filled with tears. "You wouldn't hurt him. I did this, not him!"

Zuko merely shook his head. His gaze seemed to sadden as he watched Katara crying but Katara could also see the determination in them. A sob broke out as she realized Zuko would go through anything to get the avatar. "This is the only way that'll keep you from misbehaving again. If you try any more attempts like this, your brother will pay for it."

Katara sobbed again. "I'm just trying to get us home," she whispered, more to herself than Zuko.

"The South Pole? You want to go back there? I thought you'd be trying to get straight back to the avatar." Zuko looked at her, now completely confused. Katara rolled her eyes as her tears began to slow.

"Wherever Aang is, that's home now. We're a family and home is where the family is."

Zuko's eyes seemed to darken and Katara could see him visibly stiffen. "Well from now on, this is your home and it will be until I have the avatar!" Zuko shouted, hostility back in voice, shocking Katara. Zuko began calling for guards and soon she was surrounded by firebenders, at least four of which were now gripping her arms to keep her from bending. Zuko let go of her and ordered them to take her back to her cell and lock her up.

As Katara looked back, she saw Zuko glaring at her as he watched them drag her away.


	4. Chapter 4

Katara's eyes shot open and she banged her head on the metal wall behind her as she jerked awake.

"Ow!" she cried out. She moved to rub her head before remembering the chains that restricted her. She shook them in frustration. For the past week, Katara had tried to find a way out of them, failing every time. They were so tight that they nearly completely cut off her circulation, keeping her hands numb and unable to bend. Only with the moon waxing was she able to feel the ocean's movements and use its strength to keep her blood flowing. Katara was worried that if Zuko didn't loosen them or she couldn't find a way out soon that she would permanently lose feeling in her hands.

Every day, she was provided with a bowl of rice and a cup of tea, which had to be fed to her by whichever guard was forced to bring it to her. Every day, Zuko would accompany the guard and quiz her about Aang, teasing her with thoughts of freedom, her brother's freedom, and bribes. The worst was when he offered to release her bonds for a day in return for knowing how to best capture the Avatar. Though Katara would never dream of giving him any information, it drove her mad to think that there might be a way to get out of these chains.

If Katara wasn't eating and being berated by Zuko, she was either sleeping or worrying. She'd been sleeping so much, she felt exhausted. The constant fear of what had become of her brother and Aang only made it worse. She knew Zuko didn't have the Avatar. Otherwise she wouldn't be here. She had no idea where Sokka was, though. Every day she shouted at Zuko for keeping that information from her, but he would only smirk and counter with a question about Aang, to which Katara would only glare at him in answer.

Katara stretched as much as her chains allowed her to, feeling her back and neck pop as she twisted. As she rolled her head backwards she saw the window above her was flooded with moonlight.

"Must almost be a full moon," she muttered. Her power had risen as the moon had waxed again, but that only made her feel more helpless. Being surrounded by water and having the power of the moon but unable to use any of it to escape was infuriating.

A door slammed open in the distance, making Katara jump. It was the same door that slammed every time Zuko came to annoy her, which was confusing since Katara had already eaten and been quizzed by him today.

A few moments later the prison door was jerked open, and Katara feigned sleep.

"Wake up, peasant!" Zuko kicked her cell door. Katara opened her eyes and smiled sweetly at him.

"And a very good night to you too, my dear sir. I thank you for letting me rest."

"You can sleep if you want to, but I thought you should know, we've caught sight of the Avatar's bison." Katara was instantly alert. "That's right, peasant. He's coming for you. And we have a trap prepared."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"To show you that you failed. Truly failed. So, in a week's times, the avatar will be mine and you and your brother will be dropped off at the nearest deserted island we can find."

Katara snorted. "You realize that the fact that it's an island means it's surrounded by water? I'm a waterbender. And I promise to hunt you down if you ever get your hands on Aang."

Zuko leaned forward and smirked. "By the time you wake up, you'll never have time to catch up to us." Zuko spun on his heel and walked out, the guard in charge of Katara at the moment standing and saluting him as he went by. Katara started calling him every rude name she could until the door clanged shut behind him.

"Katara?" came a hushed whisper. Katara looked up in surprise to see her guard crouching outside her cell. The guard swiftly pulled their face mask off to reveal the familiar face of Aika.

"Aika?" she said, shock in her voice.

"Look, I don't have much time before the next guard change. Your brother, what's his name?"

"Sokka? Why? What's the matter with him?" Katara lurched forward, jangling her chains.

"Shhh! Nothing's the matter! At least, not that I know of. Katara, I don't think your brother is on the ship."

"What?"

"I've searched every part and you're the only prisoner here! Zuko's lying to keep you docile."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because it's cruel what he's doing. Chasing the avatar, using you as bait, lying about your brother are all horrible things for anyone to do, royalty or not."

"Wait, so you don't support…"

"I guard him. That's it. General Iroh has always been kind to me. He replaced my father after mine died so when he asked me to help protect his nephew, I agreed. That doesn't mean I can't think what he's doing is wrong."

Katara stared at her, shocked into silence.

"So Sokka…"

"He's safe. He's probably with the avatar, trying to rescue you."

Katara nodded slowly. Then she shook her head and refocused her gaze on Aika. "I'm sorry about your father."

"It's ok. It happened a long time ago." A door opened in the distance. Aika shot back to her post and slid her mask back in place after giving Katara a wink. A new guard waltzed in and saluted Aika before taking her place watching over Katara.

Katara watched her walk away before turning her attention to the new guard. The guard did nothing except to stare back at her making Katara decided Aika was probably the only friendly guard she was going to have.

 _That settles it,_ she thought. _I'm getting out of here for good."_ Katara closed her eyes and felt for the push and pull of the ocean. She smiled as she felt the strength of the moon reaching her.

All night, Katara did everything she could to keep her blood moving so that she'd be able to bend. The guard had at first gotten angry with her, but Katara had merely said that the chains were digging into her and she couldn't sleep like that. Staying up so long made her exhausted but Katara knew she would sleep during the day. The sun would make it harder for her to rest and her meal and interrogation interruptions wouldn't help much either, but by the time dinner came around, she'd get a few hours of sleep.

As the guard brought the cup of tea up to her lips, she made sure to jostle the cup. The guard splattered tea all across Katara's lap, who gave a fake cry of surprise.

"Did it burn you?" The guard panicked, almost spilling even more tea.

"No, no. I'm fine. It just surprised me."

A door banged open. "What's going on?" came the voice of Zuko as he marched to Katara's cell. The guard was instantly on his feet, saluting the prince while Katara glared at him as usual.

"Sorry sir. I accidentally spilled hot tea on her lap."

"What? Did it burn her?"

"She says it didn't sir."

"Very well. You may go."

"Sir? She hasn't finished eating yet."

"I'll take care of it! Go!" Zuko shouted, his temper erupting. The guard scrambled away to make way for Zuko to enter the cell before rushing out. Zuko watched him leave with his arms crossed and an exasperated look on his face. When the door was shut, Zuko sighed before sitting on the floor in front of Katara. He lifted her bowl and raised a spoonful of rice to her face. Katara eyed it warily.

"You really think that since I'm the one feeding you that it's suddenly poisoned or something?" Zuko snapped impatiently. Katara relented with a harsh glare before opening her mouth to accept the spoon. "Were you being honest that the tea didn't burn you?" Zuko asked as he lifted another spoonful, his focus completely on the bowl in his lap.

Katara waited until she'd swallowed again before answering. "What does it matter to you if it did or not?"

Zuko sighed. "As I told you before, I'm not a barbarian. I don't wish harm on you." Zuko looked up from her bowl and focused on her. "You'll also find I'm a bit sympathetic to burns."

"Oh," was all Katara could say to that. She ate in silence for a while, waiting for Zuko to start interrogating her, but he never did. In fact, he didn't say anything at all, giving Katara plenty of time to think and remember what Aika had told her. Katara's anger flared as she watched him, her mind jumping to see everything he'd ever done to her and her family.

"Were you being honest about Sokka being on the ship?" she finally burst out, determined, staring right at him. Zuko's eyes widened in shock.

"What makes you think I'm lying about that?" Zuko asked, bewildered.

"He isn't here, is he?" Katara demanded. "Where is he? Is he even still alive? I swear, Zuko, if you've killed him..."

"Calm down! Your brother is fine!"

"Is he on the ship?"

Zuko hesitated a moment too long, confirming everything Aika had said.

"You're despicable. How could you do that? Do you know how worried about him I've been? I thought you were torturing him!"

"I figured by now you'd have realized that torture isn't one of my methods."

"You think using Sokka like that wasn't a form of torture? Believe me, I'd rather be burned a hundred times than go through the fear I had again. How could you?" Katara felt tears pricking her eyes. Had she not needed the water to help her escape, she'd have refused to let them fall, but instead she let her pride take a small blow and let Zuko see her cry.

It was almost worth it to see Zuko's lost face at what to do. Katara thought it might be enough to make him leave but instead Zuko raised a hand to her face as if to wipe away her tears. Katara instantly jerked back as far as she could, the chains restricting her too much to get far enough away from him as she would've liked.

"Don't touch me," she snarled. Zuko's shock quickly gave place to rage and he quickly stood, spilling her food across the cell. He didn't give her a single glance as he locked the cell again and left. Katara's frustration started boiling that he would just leave like that, though she had no idea why she was mad. Him leaving sooner and not trying to question her gave her more time to work on her escape. And since he'd dismissed the guard, for a few blissful seconds, Katara was alone.

Shaking off her anger, Katara quickly focused on the water she could feel outside the ship and the moonlight streaming through her window. Her restrictions made it harder, but Katara could still move her fingers. She swirled them and felt for the water soaked into her tunic, straining so much that a sweat began to break out over her forehead. She welcomed it, adding another source to her water and reached harder.

 _There!_ Katara pulled the tea from her tunic and sweat from her face. It floated in an orb before her, and Katara felt a moment of disappointment. It was hardly anything. She pulled it around behind her anyway, knowing it was the best chance she had.

Just as it was behind her, the jail door slammed open again and a guard came back in. Katara allowed herself a small smile that she had been able to hide her bending before the guard had come back.

Behind her back, it was even harder to bend, but Katara was determined. She strained her senses to get a guess at how near the water was to the chains holding her wrists. When she thought she was near enough, Katara slashed it down in a slice and immediately cried out in pain. The water, instead of penetrating the metal had grazed across her wrists, cutting into her skin. The guard instantly shot up.

"What happened?"

Katara took a shuddering breath and got her pain under control. "Nothing. I just moved my arms wrong and the chains dug into my wrists. Sorry."

The guard narrowed his eyes, but seemed to accept her story. As he sighed back down, Katara sighed quietly in relief before gritting her teeth again and slicing the water. This time she nicked the chain and only gave herself a small cut.

She nodded to herself and sliced again.


	5. Chapter 5

" _Someone get help!"_

 _"Quick! Get her out of these chains!"_

Katara dimly heard people rushing about her cell. Something was wet on the floor against her cheek but she couldn't raise her head to get off it. Her chains were unlocked.

 _Oh, that's good,_ she thought. _I need to escape now._

"There's too much blood. Can you hear me, Waterbender?"

 _Yes. I can hear you. You don't have to yell at me. I'm going to escape and find Aang._

"I'm going to have to sear your wrists closed. This will hurt.

 _Hurt?_ Katara was confused. _They already hurt._

A scorching pain flew across her wrists and blackness came upon Katara.

Something was beneath her. Something soft. It felt like a bed, but there was no way Zuko would ever let her have a bed. And it was warm. The chill from the metal was gone.

"Aang? Sokka?" she mumbled. She tried to pull her arms down and immediately her eyes flew open and she screamed as her wrists dug into the chains holding her to the bed frame. Zuko shot up from where he had apparently been sleeping on the floor.

His eyes focused on Katara who was now whimpering in pain and he seemed to wake up fully. "You're awake!"

Katara curled into a ball and kept crying. Zuko was instantly at her side, gently fingering her arms. Katara flinched at his touch.

"You're too hot!" The heat from his hands had spread to her wrists where they were pulsing in pain. Zuko immediately pulled his hands back. He got into a bending stance and Katara cried out, sure he was going to burn her. Zuko rolled his eyes before raising his hands and concentrating. A few seconds later, he placed them back on her arm, making Katara cry out again as she expected more heat. Instead, she felt blessed cool.

"I drew the heat out of them. It won't last long but it's better than having my hands burn you again," Zuko said.

Something about that phrase caught her attention. "Again?"

Zuko visibly winced. "There was so much blood. I didn't know how else to stop it." Katara craned her head, trying to see her wrists but could only see white bandages wrapped around them.

Zuko moved his hands to her wrists, slowly unwinding the bandages. He dropped them to the floor then reached for her waist, pausing just before touching her as if to ask permission. Katara nodded and Zuko helped raise her up to take the strain off her wrists so that she could get a good look at them, only once she saw them, she wished she hadn't.

Bright red and inflamed, the blisters that circled her wrists made the injury seem more gruesome than it was. Seeing them made the pain flare up even more. She felt as if heat was still trapped inside them, burning at the same intensity as when Zuko's flame had been on them. Underneath the blisters, Katara could see lines from where she'd cut herself with her water.

"Don't move and don't put any pressure on them. I'm going to get more bandages," Zuko told her. He left the room, shutting the door behind him. Katara could hear something be placed by the door, probably something to keep her locked inside. Not that she would even try. Katara could barely keep herself upright. Her blood was rushing from her head and with too little blood inside her already, Katara could feel herself losing consciousness. She shook her head, trying to clear it and became woozy. Just before she passed out, she yanked her wrists against the chains and felt another fresh flash of pain before toppling onto the bed.

Zuko was meditating when she next woke up. When her eyes were open all the way, she found herself studying him. He wasn't in an exactly peaceful position, yet Katara found she liked this silent and contemplating Zuko. It wouldn't be Zuko without a serious face and it would be strange if he wasn't concentrating on something. Katara closed her eyes to go back to sleep but a growling from her stomach shot her eyes back open.

Katara flushed when she realized Zuko had heard her stomach and had opened his eyes. He smirked at her and stood up, coming to the side of the bed.

"Are you done passing out now?" he asked.

Katara huffed and rolled her eyes in answer, a skill she was finding herself becoming better and better at.

"Alright, this is the deal. Either I can trust you and leave to go find you some food which will be much faster, or I can stay here until someone comes to check on me and ask them to bring you some food."

She stared back at Zuko for another moment before telling him he could trust her, that she'd stay where she was. Zuko smirked at her again and left the room.

Katara was instantly sitting up and testing the chains. Pulling them against her wrists brought tears to her eyes again, but she found that she could move them up a little more than her last pair. Apparently Zuko didn't want her wrists hurt much more than they already were.

There was no water in the room. Frankly, there was hardly anything except fire nation decorations and a small metal dresser welded into the wall. A few small windows, too tiny to get through, lined the top of the wall, reinforced with thick glass and metal bars.

Realizing the chains had a lot more slack, Katara slid off the bed and was able to take two tiny steps to the side. If only she had water now. Being able to see her hands, she'd be out of these chains in moments.

Katara ground her teeth in frustration. The heat of this room seemed to have intensified and she could feel herself beginning to sweat. She smiled. Sweat! It seemed her body was able to anticipate her needs.

The sweat she drew was hardly anything but Katara added to it with some spitting. Too bad Sokka wasn't here. He'd be so proud to see his little sister being so resourceful.

That thought made Katara smile and she began cutting into her chains. She ignored the shackles, knowing they'd take too long and focused on breaking the link connecting the shackles to the chain.

Back and forth she went, her aim perfect now that she could see. True to her estimate, it didn't take long before she cut through, dropping the chains to clang to the ground. She rushed to the door and grasped the handle. Locked. Apparently, Zuko didn't trust her.

All Katara could do was wait for him to come back and try and fight her way out. She didn't like her chances, with so little water and no idea where she was, but she also knew she had to try.

When Katara finally heard the key in the lock, she was panicking a little. She'd been spitting and moving around to try and add to her water, but her efforts were laughable at best. She stood to the side of the door and the moment Zuko opened it, she kicked out.

Zuko was ready for it and he blocked it with his own easily, even while balancing a tray of food. He quickly set it down and jumped into the room, fire in his fists. Katara shot a well-aimed dagger of ice at him. It was so small, Zuko completely missed seeing it until it sliced the side of his neck. He yelped and slapped a hand to his neck. His eyes turned to slits and he yelled as he rushed her. Katara's meager store of water vanished to steam as she tried to block Zuko's blast of fire. She cried out, and Zuko grabbed her throat and threw her, slamming her into the wall. Breathing heavily, Zuko paced over to her and grasped her neck again, lifting her up.

Katara clawed at his hands as pain washed over her and Zuko kept her from breathing.

"That is enough! You are a prisoner and that's not anything that's going to change! Stop hurting me, my men, and yourself on something so pointless!"

Zuko dropped her and Katara collapsed, grasping her throat as her gasped. She retched, glaring at Zuko as tears filled her eyes. She angrily wiped them away, getting to her feet. Zuko stared at her in amusement. Katara knew she looked pathetic but she didn't care.

"You don't get it. I have to try."

"Just give up. Can't you see it's hopeless?"

"I can't give up! Giving up means betraying my brother, betraying Aang! At least if I'm doing something to try and get out of here, I'm still trying to help them. I'm not going to just sit here and let you use me as bait."

With that, Katara attacked. It was so sluggish that Zuko almost cracked a smile which only infuriated her more. She called water to her, not expecting anything but she was so _angry_ and so tired of failing.

Water exploded through the window, shocking Katara. Zuko shouted and fire flew from his hands as he tried to evaporate it. Katara reacted finally and pulled the water around her. She spun out, driving the water towards Zuko. His fire took on the same form as he retaliated. Their elements lashed together and water hissed as it steamed. Katara whipped the water around her and pulled more from the ocean, rocking the ship in the process. She struck at Zuko, her fists flying as the water flowed with her movements. Zuko's fire was brisk and seemed out of control as it flared randomly while he blocked her blows.

Exhaustion was hitting. Katara wasn't ready for a drawn-out battle like this. One last trick was all she'd be able to muster, so pulling in even more water, Katara used it to form a thick wall of ice between Zuko and her, trapping her in the room. She raced to the side as she saw Zuko's fire glowing as he melted the ice. With a running start, Katara created a hole in the ice and leapt through it, pulling the water from her wall beneath her feet, getting her neatly over the head of the Prince.

She dropped through the doorway and took off running.

And froze as she realized she had no idea where she was.

Zuko raced out the door behind her, and Katara bolted. She ran down ramps and up staircases, all the while hearing Zuko pounding behind her as he got closer. Then suddenly, the poundings ceased and Katara looked behind her to see what had happened to Zuko, just in time to be tackled by him.

They fell hard to the floor, Katara's skull screaming in pain as she jarred it yet again. Zuko yanked her arms to her side, careful even now to avoid her burns and placed her forearms beneath his knees as he straddled her, keeping her immobile. Katara could barely move. She jerked her knees into Zuko's back but to no avail. Even without his armour on, Zuko probably barely felt her pathetic attempt.

Zuko crossed his arms as he glared at her.

"Are you done yet?" he asked angrily.

"No. So would you mind getting off me so we can continue this battle?"

"You call that a battle? Please. You barely made it out of your room."

"I got very far out from that room! The only reason you beat me is because you're faster than me which hardly counts."

"So, you're admitting I won."

Katara's mouth twisted sourly as she realized what she'd said.

"You're right, I certainly did. Now, are you going to let yourself be led back to your room or do I have to knock you out again?"

"You knocked me out once!"

"Which makes this again. Your head is going to be sore for a long time after this now, you'll be lucky if you don't have a concussion."

"It's your fault if I do!"

"What was I supposed to do? Let you escape?" Zuko was definitely smiling with pride now. Katara wanted to smack it off of his face.

"It would've been helpful if you had."

"And why would I want to help you?"

General Iroh suddenly came around the corner before Katara could have a chance to reply. He stopped briefly in shock before smiling at them.

"Hello again Miss Simply Katara."

Katara couldn't help but smile as Iroh bowed to her. She gave a small wave with her hand, the only part of her body she could really move.

"Uncle! Help me get the prisoner back to her room!" Zuko jumped off Katara and pulled her to her feet by her forearms. As he spun her around, Katara saw his face and could've sworn it was red but she didn't get a good enough look before he was marching her down the hall, Iroh at the side chatting with her the whole way.


	6. Chapter 6

"You're joking. No way am I letting that happen."

"You made the decision to try and escape and…"

"And you made the decision to capture me!"

"You boarded my ship!"

"You keep following us!"

Zuko glared at her heavily. "This is final. You better get used to the idea of sharing a room. Apparently, I can't trust the guards enough to keep you contained and you need constant surveillance. From now on you'll be kept chained in my room."

"No."

"And how do you plan on refusing?"

Katara wanted to scream.

"Why are you doing this? Do you hate me so much you have to make my life even worse than it is? You knock me out, imprison me, burn my wrists, and now you're forcing me to spend every second in your presence. I thought you cared about honor."

"Do not insult my honor, waterbender."

"My name is Katara!"

"Uncle, secure the waterbender below in my chambers. Keep her under constant watch until I can get down there."

With that, Zuko passed her off to his uncle before storming away. Or at least he tried to. As he turned, Katara kicked him in the back of his knee, causing him to trip and fall.

"Prince Zuko!"

Zuko jumped to his feet as Iroh released Katara to help pull him up. In a flash, Katara slammed into Iroh, pushing him into the wall and took off. She didn't get far before a wall of fire shot in front of her. She skidded to a stop as heat flared in front of her face. Zuko was yelling something at her but Katara wasn't paying attention. The fire couldn't be that thick; it was possible if she went fast enough she could jump through it without being burned. She backed up a few steps, preparing to run, just as she started, Zuko crashed into her, slamming her against the wall. He held her arms just below the burned part of her wrists.

"What were you thinking? You were just burned on your wrists; do you really want that feeling to spread?"

"I was planning on escaping!"

"And how were you supposed to get through those flames without any water?"

"Running, maybe?"

"You wouldn't make it five feet. That whole hallway is in flames right now."

Katara scowled.

"A little over the top, don't you think?" she growled.

"When it comes to having to keep you here, definitely not."

Zuko yanked her arms behind her back and began marching her toward his room. He kicked the door open and shoved her inside, Katara yelling insults the whole way. General Iroh followed behind them, along with a guard carrying a heavy looking set of chains for both her feet and hands that were connected by a long chain. Katara's brief flash of hope vanished when she realized this guard wasn't Aika. She tried to kick him as he secured her ankles but he merely grunted and snapped them on before securing her wrists.

"Now weld the chain to the floor," Zuko commanded as he forced Katara to her knees in the corner of his room. He stayed behind her, a grip so tight on her upper arms she could barely move. The guard went behind her as well and then she could feel the heat of his fire washing over her, hot enough to make her feel faint.

"Try not to pass out again," Zuko growled at her when she started leaning over. Katara sat up and shook her head, refusing to give out.

After a while, the chain was welded and Zuko released her. He stood and went to speak with his uncle, something about their coordinates while Katara tested her bonds. Zuko turned back to her and she glared at him when she couldn't find any weaknesses. He smirked at her and went back to his conversation. Katara pulled her knees to her chest and laid her forehead on them, frustrated again.


	7. Chapter 7

Being a prisoner to Zuko's room wasn't at all how she'd thought it would be. If Zuko was there, usually other people were with him, going over plans or marking the path they were taking. If there wasn't anyone, Zuko was going over maps and charts or meditating. Occasionally he'd try a question on Katara but he'd only get glares in response or no reaction at all. He was constantly rushing, responding to nearly every little thing that happened. Eventually, he seemed to realize he wasn't there enough to watch her and had a guard almost constantly in his room during daylight hours. Not that Katara could think of any way out. The chains that locked her hands behind her back were also held tightly against the ground. She could sit up and lie down, but her hands could never move from where they were. Her arms were immobile and the way she was situated had made sleep nearly impossible. Her head constantly felt fuzzy and her body ached. After all the hits she'd gotten from her escape attempts, she was betting she'd finally gotten her concussion. Thoughts of escape evaded her now and all she could focus on was that she needed to escape as soon as she could. Trying to do so now, she realized, was fruitless. She prayed that Aang and Sokka would hold off on any rescue attempts for just a while so that she could get her strength back and be a help to them instead of a hinderance.

The highlight of each day was when Zuko would unlock her bonds for just a few minutes and help her stand. Feeling the blood rush through her body and moving again felt better than she could've imagined. While her bonds were loosened, Zuko would have his uncle and at least one other guard with him, if not more.

Every day, he'd check her wrists for infection, slather them in pungent ointment that certainly didn't help Katara get to sleep any better and then rewrap them in clean bandages. When he'd finished, she'd give him a quick "thank you" and receive a terse nod in reply. It was the only time she was ever civil to him or spoke to him.

If it wasn't for the guards who also got bored, she'd rarely speak at all. When Zuko wasn't in the room, a few certain guards would start talking with her about random things. Any questions about the Avatar came up and Katara would seal her lips no matter how innocent it seemed. If Aika was there, Katara didn't mind sharing as much, but she never gave any real info. The only questions Aika asked about the Avatar was how it felt to fly or waterbend with him. In turn, Katara would ask about how she came to work for Zuko and what it was like to serve him.

Even with these conversations, Katara found herself becoming increasingly annoyed. Her energy had been pent up for too long.

Zuko unlocked the chains around her ankles so that Katara could stretch out her legs. Immediately, she shook her legs, trying to get the blood flow moving as quickly as she could, knowing Zuko wouldn't leave them unlocked for very long. She also had to admit that it was a bit humiliating to be held up by him when he unlocked the full set of chains and she got to stand.

After a few moments, Zuko unlocked the chains binding her wrists to the ground and lifted her slowly, holding her by her forearms to prevent her from doing any bending. Katara planted her feet and swayed a little as Zuko loosened her grip to see if she was strong enough to stand. Zuko sighed and wrapped an arm around her waist while Katara gritted her teeth in anger.

"How are you this day, Katara?" Iroh asked, as he did every time Zuko helped her up. Normally Katara would answer that she was well and ask how he was doing in kind but today she felt irritated and not in the mood for courtesy.

"I'm a little bit annoyed if you must know," she said, fumbling again as she tried to stay on her feet.

"And what could be causing this annoyance, Miss Waterbender?"

Katara failed once again to stand on her own. Zuko's arm locked tighter around her waist to pull her back up, and Katara exploded.

"Everything! Being locked in here every day! Not being able to see the sun! Being used as bait! Not being able to stand! Eating fire nation food! Having to spend every minute with a fire nation prince!"

Zuko startled so much, he dropped her. Katara collapsed to the ground before raising herself up to continue her tirade.

"Being a master waterbender and not being able to bend! Being stuck on a ship! Not being allowed to heal my burned wrists! Being kept from my family! Never going outside! Do I need more reason than that?"

Katara panted as she finished her screaming. Zuko stared at her in shock while Iroh just watched his nephew with bemusement.

Katara closed her eyes for a moment before pushing herself up off the ground. She stood shakily with her fists clenched.

"I'm leaving," she said. She took three steps towards the door before Zuko was blocking her path.

"You're not leaving," he said, quietly.

Katara's rage boiled.

"What did I do to deserve this?" she shouted.

"You think I wanted this? You think I wanted to take care of prisoner more stubborn than a storm at sea? If I could drop you at the nearest island and forget I ever had to deal with you I would!" Zuko shouted right back.

"Then do it! I don't want to be here, you don't want me here! What's stopping you?"

"I can't! I need the Avatar!"

"The only thing you need Aang for is to secure your own fame in fire-nation history as the Fire Lord who destroyed the world's last hope!"

"You don't understand anything. You're just a simple peasant!"

Katara punched him. She wasn't even thinking. All she knew she that she was tired of being insulted and tired of being here. She hit him hard enough that his head jerked backwards. As he turned back to face her, Katara could see the fury in his eyes and the beginnings of a mark just below his eye her fist had left.

Suddenly, he shoved her backwards. Katrara's eyes widened as she tried to catch her balance and fell. Zuko got behind her and grabbed her arms, thrusting them into their chains. Katara shouted in pain as his hands scraped over her burnt wrists, but Zuko didn't even hesitate as he locked her in. Moving to her legs, he grabbed at one of her ankles. Katara yanked it from his grip and kicked him in the knee, toppling him backwards. Zuko rolled back to his feet, spitting mad.

"Guard!" he shouted, before advancing again.

Katara kicked at both of them but to no avail. Zuko forced her legs down and the guard chained up her ankles. She screamed at them all as Zuko stood and walked out, a slight limp he was obviously trying to hide on the leg she'd kicked.

Only once he'd slammed the door shut did her protests stop. She buried her head in her knees in frustration.

Quiet footsteps came towards her.

"You presume to know too much about my nephew, Katara," Iroh said matter-of-factly. Katara looked up at him in confusion.

"I'm afraid Prince Zuko is lost and cannot find a way home in his mind without the Avatar in his grasp."

"But why?"

"I'm not sure he'd appreciate me telling you that story. Perhaps he will, one day." Iroh gave her a small bow and a kind smile. Then he frowned.

"I suppose I should apologize. It was at my urging you were placed here. I hoped you could provide a rational view for him to realize the fruitlessness of his quest. I should've realized some injuries run too deep to allow for rational thought from either of you."

Iroh gave her another little bow before he departed, leaving her alone with a silent guard.


	8. Chapter 8

The screech of the door startled Katara awake. She blinked to clear her eyes and saw Zuko looking down at her from the doorway, a frown on his face. Katara rolled her eyes and settled back against the wall, trying to get comfortable. She could hear Zuko walk to his side of the room away from Katara and remove his armor before climbing on his bed. Silence came on for a while and Katara started to drift off again.

"There was rain today."

Zuko's voice shocked Katara awake again.

"What?" she asked, completely confused. She turned to look at Zuko and saw him lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

"It rained for most of today. The whole sky was gray but it wasn't a bad storm. No lightning or anything. Just lots of rain."

Katara stared at him for a minute. Zuko eventually turned his head to look at her.

"You said you were annoyed that you could never go outside. I just thought…"

Katara narrowed her eyes.

"You thought what, Zuko? You thought you could come in here, tell me about the weather and that would make up for keeping me chained up in here?"

"No of course not. But I can't take you outside. It's too much of risk."

"Then stop talking. You're not helping at all and I think we'd both rather just go back to using the silent treatment on each other."

Katara turned away again and closed her eyes.

Katara's eyes snapped open as she heard a click and felt a loosening around her wrists. Zuko's face completely focused on her chains as he unlocked the set around her ankles as well. Without looking her in the eye, he helped lift her up before turning her around.

He'd gotten another pair of cuffs somehow that clasped her hands tightly together, restricting any bending she might try.

Katara was about to ask him where they were going when he put a blindfold over her eyes. She was so shocked, she didn't react as Zuko gave her a slight push from behind and led her out of his room.

"Zuko?" Katara ventured. Zuko didn't respond except to keep leading her out. She stumbled a few times and tripped as she was taken to who knows where. Panic was beginning to set in. Perhaps she'd pushed him too far. He might be taking her somewhere to kill her to avoid making a mess in his bedroom. Maybe he'd realized that he didn't need her alive to trick Aang into thinking he still had her, and he'd realized the truth about what she'd said when she'd told him he'd never be able to trust her.

"Zuko!" She tried again, her voice raising.

"There are stairs right here. Can you make it up them or do I need to carry you?"

Katara shook her head. Zuko began to push her forward again but she locked her feet against the stairs, pushing against Zuko's touch.

"Where are you taking me? Zuko, what's going on?"

Zuko shoved against her but she held fast, fear and adrenaline making her stronger. Zuko grunted before abruptly stepping back, making Katara fall. She tried to catch her balance and would have too if not for Zuko scooping her up to carry her up the stairs. Katara yelled and pushed against him. Zuko dropped downwards and for a moment, Katara thought that perhaps she made him fall but he simply sat on the stairs to give himself an extra hand to cover her mouth with, cutting off her shouts.

"Shut up," he hissed. The instant he moved his hand away to lift her again, she drew breath to shout again. Zuko's hand snapped back to her mouth.

"I will gag you, if I have to," he said. He held still for a moment, as if to assure her he would. Slowly, he dropped his hand away before lifting her back into his arms. As quietly as she could, Katara drew in a deep breath before letting out a piercing scream. Zuko dropped her back down and grabbed her mouth. Katara tried to bite him, but he merely cupped his hand away from her teeth.

A tearing sound could be heard and then suddenly Zuko was shoving a piece of fabric in her mouth. He covered her mouth with his hand again to keep her from spitting it out and Katara could hear another tare before feeling him place the fabric over her mouth, under his hand. Realizing his hand from her face, he promptly grabbed the ends and tied them behind her head, gagging her.

Zuko lifted her once more and started climbing again, faster this time. Katara tried kicking but Zuko didn't even slow. She could feel the muscles on his arms beneath her and was no longer surprised at how easy it was for him to overpower her. Tears started to spill, absorbed by the fabric blinding them before they could fall down her face. She gave muffled screams but after no one had heard her first ones, she knew there was no way for anyone to hear these, not that anyone on this ship would care if she was about to be killed.

Eventually, Zuko came to the end of the stairs and Katara expected him to put her down. Instead, he continued to carry her through the hall and up some more stairs, around some turns, before finally setting her on the ground. By this time. Katara had decided that if he was going to kill her, she was going to die with as much dignity as she could muster. He would not see her cry and she would not beg from him.

Still holding her by the arm, Katara could hear Zuko opening a door, based on the shrieks of the metal on metal and the low grunt Zuko gave.

He pushed her gently and Katara stumbled forward. She tripped as she started walking and collapsed to the ground. Closing her eyes, Katara rose to her knees and held her head high, waiting to see what Zuko would do. His light footsteps came closer to her before he knelt down behind her and loosened first her blindfold and then her gag.

Katara kept her eyes squeezed tight as she listened to Zuko's footsteps go in front of her. She began breathing deeply, feeling her panic begin to set in again.

 _I will not cry,_ she thought. _I will not cry. I will not cry._

She thought it strange that she would notice the lightness of Zuko's footsteps now. It impressed her to think that he could have acquired such agile stepping in his time on this ship. He must've had to practice a lot.

Zuko's voice interrupted the thoughts she was using to distract herself.

"Waterbender."

He nudged her leg with his foot. Katara kept her eyes shut, shaking her head slightly.

"Waterbender, open your eyes." He nudged her again.

"Just get it over with," she said, determined.

" _Katara,"_ he said, exasperated as he nudged her harder this time.

The surprise at hearing him say her name shocked her eyes open. She looked up at him in astonishment. He stood before her, arms crossed, an eyebrow arched as he waited for her to open her eyes.

"You've known my name this whole time and you only use it now?" she demanded.

Zuko rolled his eyes at her. Katara felt her anger grow again and was ready to unleash a storm of admonishing on him when a raindrop landing on her cheek caught her attention.

Katara's own eyes widened in surprise as she looked past Zuko and saw the ocean. Zuko quickly stepped aside to give her a full view when he realized she'd seen it.

Rain pattered across the metal of the ship deck, a blessed feeling of cool and peace. The ocean waves were pushing against the side of the ship, never big enough to spill over the side but still enough to make the rocking of the ship a bit harder. The night sky was pitch black and it was nearly impossible to make out the clouds that covered the moon and stars. The only light came from the ship's tower behind Katara.

The tears she had held back now started to fall in earnest as she breathed in the clean air coming from the storm.

"I hope you understand that I can't risk unbinding you, and I can't risk bringing you out during the day when the Avatar could spot you," Zuko said, looking towards the ocean as he spoke.

A sob broke out of Katara, making Zuko spin around and rush to her side.

"What the...? Katara? Are you crying?" he asked, panic in his voice. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

She nodded furiously as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I just...I haven't felt the ocean in such a long time," she gasped out.

Zuko's surprised look almost made her laugh. Instead, she used her shoulder to try and wipe away her tears. When it didn't do much to help, Zuko pulled out the blindfold he'd used on her. Once again, giving her that look as if to ask permission, as soon as Katara nodded her consent, Zuko used it to dry off her tears and mop her face. With the rain falling, her face didn't stay dry for very long but it felt good to know the water coursing down her cheeks was from rain and not crying. She briefly shook her head again when he'd done enough and moved her head backwards, tilting it up to the sky, closing her eyes again, trying to think of the words to explain herself.

"It's like...firebenders grow stronger from the sun, right?"

"Yes. A firebender's power is tied to the fire from the sun."

"Well imagine being trapped in a cave, without any light and without the ability to call fire for days. Then imagine one day, you're let out on a day where the sun is blazing."

Katara's eyes snapped open.

"I feel like my senses are alive again," she said.

"You are an extremely strange person," Zuko remarked after a while.

"You're the one who brought me here, to a place where I am strongest."

Zuko sighed. "I know," he said, squatting down next to her. "I'm still wondering how soon before I regret this."

"So why did you bring me up here? I'm a prisoner."

Zuko fumbled for his words for a moment. He opened his mouth to respond when the door behind them was thrown open.

"Prince Zuko, are you alright?" Iroh shouted, standing in the doorway with Aika behind him, both in fighting stances. When they saw Zuko and Katara sitting on the ground, Aika rushed forward, getting between Katara and her Prince.

"I'm fine, Uncle," Zuko retorted as he stood up. "Stand down, Aika. She's not a threat at the moment."

Aika dropped her fists and straightened, backing to Zuko's side. Iroh made his way warily over to his nephew.

"Uncle, what are you doing up here?"

"I heard yelling. What happened, Prince Zuko?"

"Nothing, Uncle. I simply wished to give the prisoner a breath of fresh air. While we were coming this way, she started yelling and screaming. I'm not sure why."

Zuko, Iroh, and Aika turned to look at Katara in question. Katara flushed and ducked her head.

"I thought he was going to kill me," she said, meekly.

Iroh burst out laughing and Aika cracked a grin. Meanwhile Zuko looked incredulous.

"You thought I was going to kill you?"

"You blindfolded me and then gagged me! What was I supposed to think?"

"I had to blindfold you so that you wouldn't be able to see how to escape! And you kept yelling, threatening to wake my whole ship!"

"Why didn't you just tell me where you were taking me?"

Zuko flushed. Iroh was smiling at him, his laughter ebbed.

"Go on, nephew. Why didn't you tell her?" Iroh asked, making Zuko flush even more.

Zuko muttered something, crossing his arms and refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"I think he wanted to give her a nice surprise," Aika answered for him.

This time, both Iroh and Aika burst into laughter and it was Katara's turned to be shocked.

"Come again?" she said.

Zuko turned to face her. His flush was going down thanks to the cold but Katara could tell he was still embarrassed.

"I'm never doing this again. Feel free to think I'm a monster as much as you want."

"I don't think you know anything about how horrible I think you are," Katara replied. Iroh sobered as she said that, and she could see a small frown come on his face. She knew why. He thought that perhaps his plan was finally working and Katara had just ruined it. Indeed, Zuko's face was once more darkened in anger, and he had turned away from Katara.

"Because I don't think you're horrible at all."

Zuko froze. Slowly, slowly as if worried he'd startle her, Zuko rotated himself back to face her.

"I think you're confused. I think you've been hurt and you're transferring all your anger into blaming the Avatar, instead of looking at the real reason you've been in pain all this time."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "You don't need to presume to know me, waterbender. There's nothing you could understand about my life."

Iroh sighed in frustration. He'd probably been hoping that what she'd said would make Zuko open up, but it was much too soon, even if it ever could happen.

"Come on, waterbender. I think you've had enough time on deck," Zuko said, coming over and lifting her by her arm.

"That was hardly anything!" Katara said, frustrated as she stood.

"Wait a minute, Prince Zuko," Iroh stepped in. "Perhaps you could stay up here for a little longer. Goodness knows, Miss Katara would certainly appreciate the soak."

Katara flamed red when she realized that Iroh was saying she smelled.

Zuko smirked down at her. "It has been a bit annoying to have to deal with her odor for so long."

Katara kicked him in the leg. "It was your idea to keep me locked up for so long," she retorted as he regained his balance.

"I guess I didn't realize how horrible the consequences would be," he shot back, dodging the next kick she sent at him.

Iroh chuckled. "If you think you can handle her by yourself, I believe Aika needs to return to her duties and I am in need of a cup of tea."

"But sir, if I'm needed here," Aika started before Iroh cut her off.

"Prince Zuko can handle Katara, Aika. We're not needed."

Aika looked to Prince Zuko and Katara. Zuko nodded his agreement and Aika reluctantly walked away. Katara smiled and sat crossed legged on the ground. Zuko watched them leave with his arms folded until the door closed behind them. He looked down at Katara and scowled.

"This isn't a good idea," he said.

"Few things you do are," she retorted, looking up at the sky and closing her eyes. Zuko snorted before sitting down next to her. She cracked open an eye as he did so and he raised his eyebrows at her before looking down at her hands.

"Stop bending," he said, fire lighting in his palms.

Katara opened both eyes and scowled, stopping the motions she was making with her wrists to see if she could either cut her bonds or freeze them and burst them apart.

"What's wrong with you? I'm giving you a chance here to prove you can be trusted, and you're going to blow it in one go."

"You're never going to be able to trust me, Zuko. I'm always going to try to escape."

"Why? Why do you care so much? Why do you always have to fight? Haven't you done enough?" Zuko scooted backwards so that he could maintain a constant view of her hands.

"Are you talking to me or yourself?" Katara asked.

"I told you once before and I won't tell you again. Don't presume to know me, waterbender," Zuko growled.

Katara shook her head. "Then don't presume to understand me," she retorted icily. "I fight to defend what I love. My family, my home, the South Pole. The Fire Nation has tried too many times to take those things from me. I won't lose them again. I have to get back to my family. I don't fight out of a sense of duty, Zuko. I fight for hope and I fight to protect those I love."

"The Avatar may bring hope to you, but he does nothing but prevent the world's unification."

"He's preventing the unification of the world under a tyrant!"

"The Firelord is not a tyrant!"

"You've followed us all over the world! Have you even looked at the people out there? They don't want to be under your father's rule! Why do you think there is so much resistance?"

Katara was breathing heavy now. She closed her eyes again and took a deep breath, calming herself.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you again," she said quietly, turning her head over her shoulder to see his reaction. His eyes were wide, but he nodded his acceptance.

"It's just it's so hard to see you constantly trying to hurt my family."

Zuko stiffened and looked away, the glare coming back into his eyes.

"Why do you do that?" Katara asked.

Zuko glanced up at her briefly before turning back to the floor, scowling. Katara turned herself all the way around.

"Why is it that every time I mention family you close off? You get angry. What happened to you, Zuko?"

Zuko refused to look up at her but his fingers brushed his scar.

"Not everyone has the luck you did, waterbender. Some people don't get a second family once their's has been destroyed."

"What happened to your family?"

"I think you've had enough time, now," Zuko said, standing.

Zuko bent to grab her arm to pull her up. As he touched her arm, Katara shattered the chains she'd surrounded with ice and kicked at Zuko's leg, trying to knock him down. Zuko, however was ready for it and jumped over her foot before tackling her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, trapping her arms before rolling over, putting them both on their sides. He shifted his hands as he did, wrapping one arm beneath her neck and the other behind her back, holding down her arms.

Katara shouted, trying to call water but she only got measly splashes that hit both of them. Zuko yanked her upwards, setting them both in a kneeling position. Fire flared from the hand next to her neck and she cried out as flames surrounded her and Zuko. She drew backwards instinctively, only to meet Zuko's solid resistance. Zuko heaved both of them upwards to their feet. She kicked back at him and yanked at her arms. Zuko, in response grabbed one of her arms and spun her to face him.

Just before he grabbed her again, Katara saw a weariness in his eyes. Seeing that look, a sudden wrench of guilt hit her. The shock at having such a feeling for him froze her momentarily as Zuko reached around her waist, locking her arms against her sides and lifting her over his shoulder.

Katara came out of her daze as Zuko ran for the ship's hull. She wrenched a hand free just as he got inside. Whipping her arm forward, Katara called water to burst through the doorway, knocking into Zuko's back, sending both of them sprawling. Katara rolled down the stairs, hitting the next level's landing in a daze. She pulled herself to her knees, shaking her head. Fire burst next to her, blocking both ends of the stairs. Katara shouted in surprise and looked up to see Zuko filling the stairway with fire. She called for water again, but it was harder this time; she'd been out of practice for so long.

Zuko blasted away her water with a careful shot of fire. He charged down the stairs at her before she could call more and slammed into her, knocking her face against the wall in front of her. He smashed his shoulder against her back, grabbing her wrists with his hands and locking them behind her waist.

"Weld the door shut!" Zuko barked, his mouth right next to Katara's ear. She flinched, smacking the back of her head on his neck. Zuko grunted as she knocked out his breath and tightened his grip. Katara turned her head in time to see Aika slam the door shut, cutting of the only sound of water she'd had for weeks.

"No!" she shrieked, as Aika directed a burning palm on the door's border, welding it into the wall. Katara's struggles began anew but to no avail. Zuko's grip was too solid and strong.

When Aika stepped away, Katara's legs gave out. Zuko loosened his hold on her and she slumped to the floor. Zuko crouched down next to her, balancing on his toes. He opened his mouth to say something but Katara slapped him before he could.

"Prince Zuko!" Aika shouted, rushing down the stairs.

"It's all right, Aika," Zuko said, a hand on his cheek. "Go back to your duties."

"But sir…"

"I won't ask again!" he shouted, making Aika jump.

Aika bowed before rushing off. Zuko turned back to face Katara who was watching him with wide eyes. As Zuko dropped his hand, she realized she'd hit him where his scar was and her eyes grew wider.

"My father, my sister, they ruined our family. They only cared about themselves. I thought my mother was the only real family I ever had. But even she abandoned me. Family means nothing, Katara," Zuko said, once again shocking Katara.

Zuko stood before bending down and lifting Katara.

"I can walk!" she demanded, outraged.

"If you think I ever trusted you before, you completely burned that bridge and then drowned it tonight. Which reminds me."

Zuko set her back on the ground. Katara tried to run but he easily grabbed her arm and pulled her back. He took out the blindfold again and put his elbows over Katara's shoulders, locking her against his chest as he spread it across her face. As he moved his hands to the back of her head and pulled his arms off her, Katara tried to run again, but Zuko merely snapped the blindfold backwards, yanking her neck back. Katara yelped and Zuko quickly knotted the blindfold at the back of her head. He used what she supposed had been her gag to tie her hands together before scooping her up again and carrying her through the ship, the multiple twists and turns making her unable to keep track of where she was.

Eventually, Zuko made it to his room. He dropped Katara to the floor, one arm still around her waist as he opened the door and led her inside. He took her to her corner and commanded her to sit before locking her wrists and ankles again. Only once she was secured did he remove the blindfold. Katara glared at him once he had, but he merely raised his eyebrows at her before going over to his bed. With a groan, he lied down, facing away from her. The candle in his room suddenly snuffed out, leaving Katara in the dark to mull over the things they'd both said that night.


	9. Chapter 9

A knock on the door woke Katara. She shook her head, clearing her grogginess. When the knock sounded again, Katara looked over at Zuko's bed and saw him fast asleep still.

"Zuko," she hissed.

No response.

"Zuko!"

A groan and a roll came from the sleeping Prince. The knock sounded once more.

"Zuko!" Katara yelled. "Wake up!"

Zuko shot from his bed, looking around for intruders. Katara's cheeks instantly flamed as she realized he was shirtless.

"What is it?" he said, swinging his legs out of bed.

Katara tried to speak but found herself stumbling on her words. Luckily, the knock came again, answering for her.

"Enter!" Zuko barked, standing.

General Iroh opened the door and stepped inside the room, giving a bow to first Katara and then his nephew. When he rose, he looked Zuko up and down and eyed him skeptically. Zuko looked down at himself and seemed to remember he was shirtless. Scanning the room, he found his top lying near his bed. He bent down and pulled it over his head.

"It got hot last night," he said with a shrug as Iroh continued to peer at him.

"I see," Iroh said. "Perhaps in the future you should try to make do, despite how hot it gets. It seems you've made it very uncomfortable for your guest."

Zuko looked confused until Iroh pointed to Katara who's gaze shot away from him as soon as Zuko looked towards her. She knew she was burning red and determinedly looked at anything but Zuko.

"Sorry," Zuko said, quietly. "I thought I'd wake up before you."

Katara nodded her head quickly, still refusing to look at him.

"What's the problem, Uncle?"

"Problem?" Iroh asked.

"What are you doing here? Why did you need to wake me up?"

"Because it's almost noon. You've overslept."

"What?!"

"In a room with a waterbender, no less," Iroh continued, ignoring his nephew's outburst. "One would think you'd be less willing to rest easy here when your prisoner is here."

"Why didn't you wake me sooner?"

"Based upon what happened last night, I figured you could both use your rest."

Zuko sighed, exasperated.

"Where there any questions about her screams last night?" Zuko asked.

"A few. Aika and I told the men Katara had a night of nightmares that kept both of you up. They accepted the story."

"Thank you, Uncle."

"We'll be ready for you when you are. Should I send breakfast down for Katara?"

They both paused in their conversation and Katara could feel their gazes upon her. She stubbornly kept her eyes on the wall. Her blush wasn't fading.

"Waterbender," Zuko said.

When Katara didn't respond, Zuko sighed again.

" _Katara,"_ he said.

Katara flushed darker and began shaking her head.

"What, you're not hungry?" Zuko asked. "I figured after your escape attempt last night you'd be famished."

Katara only shook her head harder.

"I'll bring food down for her later, Uncle. I don't understand why she's being so stubborn, though. It's just food."

"Would you just leave already?" Katara finally said, a little hysterically.

Iroh chuckled before bowing to her and walking out. Katara waited for Zuko to follow suit and found herself growing impatient when she couldn't hear any movement coming from him. Finally, she snapped her head in his direction and saw him standing there, watching her, bemusement on his face.

"I told you to leave!" she snapped.

"Two things. One, this is my room. Two, you're a prisoner here. You can't tell me to do anything."

"It'd show you'd have some respect if you'd just go!" she said through gritted teeth.

Zuko rolled his eyes. He turned to where his armor rested and began securing it over his clothes. Katara drummed her toes as much as she could to try and calm herself down. She couldn't figure out why she was reacting like this. Zuko was the enemy! She'd seen Aang without his shirt when he had to train. Just because Zuko had the most defined muscles she'd ever seen, didn't mean she should get this flustered.

Eventually, Zuko finished. As he walked towards her, Katara focused on keeping her gaze cool and level. He bent down, checking her bonds. As he rose, he gave her another bemused look.

"I never realized you were so finicky."

"I am not finicky! I'm just not used to boys walking around shirtless and looking like…" Katara nodded in Zuko's direction.

"Looking like what?"

"Just go away!"

"What? What do I look like?"

Katara stubbornly remained silent. She glared at Zuko while he gave a little smirk.

"A bit too cold in the South Pole for men to go around shirtless, I suppose."

"You're armor's crooked," she retorted, icily.

Zuko's smirk grew before he gave her a mocking bow and then he too left the room. Katara gave a sigh of relief as she heard him calling for a guard to come watch her. When the guard entered, they nodded to each other, neither seeming to be in much of a talking mood. Katara adjusted herself as much as she could before closing her eyes and eventually falling back asleep.

"Waterbender," Zuko said, kicking her leg. Katara found Zuko standing over her with a tray in his hand.

"That is no way to wake a lady, Prince Zuko," Iroh chastised as he came around his nephew so that Katara could see him. A guard also stood behind Zuko, watching Katara.

"Yeah Zuko. That's not how you treat a lady. You shouldn't kick me awake. In fact, when I'm asleep, you should just leave me alone," Katara grumbled.

"After all the times you've kicked me, I have absolutely no guilt in returning the favor," Zuko replied.

"Every time I kicked you, it was in self-defense."

"You seem to have recovered from this morning," Zuko muttered, setting the tray on the floor in front of her.

Katara leveled a haughty glare at him. Zuko ignored it and pulled out his keys to Katara's bonds. She watched him, confused as he went behind her. She heard a click and felt a chain holding one of her wrists down release. She brought her hand to her lap as Zuko came back around her again. He pushed the tray closer to her with his foot and crossed his arms.

"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't bend anything while you eat so that I can get some work done," he said before turning away to face his uncle. They both went over to Zuko's desk and began speaking in low tones. Maps, charts, and other papers containing who knows what where set out for Zuko and Iroh's analysing.

Katara looked at her hand in wonder before shifting her attention to the food. There were no real liquids, no soups or drinks. Just a piece of fish, a roll, something creamy in a cup, and some long green strands of something with a red seasoning sprinkled on top. It was the fanciest meal she'd been served. Most of the time, it was simply some bowl of mush or some bread and water. Occasionally she'd get some fruit or vegetables, but not often and meat of any kind was even more rare.

Shrugging, Katara reached out and pulled the tray closer to her. She eyed the green strands. If she wasn't as hungry as she was, she figured it would've taken her a lot longer to try them, but she grabbed the chopsticks next to her plate and fitted them into her hand and picked one up.

"Those are hot," Zuko suddenly commented. "Be careful."

Katara paused and looked up to see Zuko glance up at her from the charts he was analyzing with his Uncle and shrug. Katara frowned and looked hard at what she was about to eat. Tentatively, she brought them near her mouth but could feel no heat coming off them. Her frown grew as she supposed Zuko must've just taken a longer time bringing them down here than he thought and that they'd cooled off. Popping one in her mouth, her eyebrows shot up in surprise at the crisp flavor. She instantly grabbed another one from her tray and filled her mouth, chewing them slowly with delight.

The burning started at the back of her tongue and spread down her throat and all around her mouth. Katara gagged and spat out what she hadn't yet swallowed. She grabbed the roll and bit off a huge hunk, swallowing it as fast as she could. Tears erupted in her eyes as she finished off the roll and the burning intensified.

"Open your mouth," came an order from Zuko, right in front of her. Her jaw dropped open and she felt something cool enter it. She gulped down whatever was on the spoon in her mouth and felt a slight ease on the heat. Another command to open her mouth came again and she did so gladly. Zuko repeated the process a few more times until finally the tears stopped and Katara felt she could breathe again. Raising her eyes, she bent away the tears on her face, clearing her eyes so that she could see Zuko crouched in front of her, holding the cup from her tray and her spoon.

"I told you it was hot," he chastised.

"I thought you meant temperature!"

Zuko shook his head, the beginnings of a smile reaching the corners of his mouth. He placed the cup and spoon down before standing back up.

"Take it slower this time. Obviously your Water Tribe mouth can't handle Fire Nation spices." he said.

"Hey!" Katara said, but Zuko had already turned back to his Uncle.

She finished the rest of her food carefully, spacing out the green strands and the creamy substance to keep the burning down. It seemed as soon as she finished, Zuko was there, locking up her hand, not even giving her a chance at escaping. Katara instantly felt furious with herself for not trying as soon as her hand had been released.

A knock sounded on the door.

Zuko rose and requested whoever it was to enter. A guard poked his head around the door, giving a quick bow to Zuko and Iroh.

"Prince Zuko, we've found a small malfunction in the engine of the ship. The engineers are requesting with your permission a brief stop so that they can perform a full maintenance."

"Tell the engineers that they may stop the ship at any time. I'll be up there in a few minutes to discuss the problem with them."

The guard nodded and bowed before leaving. Zuko began speaking in low tones to his uncle. With the creaking of the ship, no matter how Katara strained, she could not hear what was being said.

As the ship suddenly groaned to a stop, Zuko rolled up a few charts and nodded to Iroh before coming over to Katara and picking up her tray. He nodded to her as well, then spun on his heel and walked out the door, Iroh following behind.

Katara settled back against the wall. She looked up to find the guard staring at her. She shrugged at him and he shrugged back.

"How's the weather?" Katara ventured.

The guard shrugged again.

"Cool. There's been a bit of some stormy weather blowing around," he told her.

Katara nodded. They both took to looking up at the ceiling as the silence began to fill.

"What's it like to serve Zuko?" she suddenly asked, shocking the guard a bit with her question.

"Prince Zuko?"

"Yeah. What's it like to be a guard for him?"

"Um, fine?"

"That's specific," Katara teased, trying to ease the nervous guard up.

"Well it was fine once I got over the seasickness."

"Ugh. I'm sorry. Seasickness is the worst."

"You didn't it get it when you were first captured, did you?"

"No. In the South Pole we have to use canoes a lot. And flying around all day kind of gets rid of any queasiness after a while."

The guard nodded.

Katara sighed inside and tried another question.


	10. Chapter 10

For a near two hours by Katara's estimate, she was forced to make small talk with the guard until the ship started moving again. Though some of it was entertaining, she never actually managed to get anything useful out of him. When footsteps pounded towards the door, Katara felt relieved, hoping it meant that someone else had come down. With any luck, it'd be Iroh or Aika so that she could actually have an enjoyable conversation.

The door suddenly slammed open, making both Katara and the guard jump. Iroh burst into the room, carrying someone in his arms, Aika and a few others filling in behind him.

As Iroh dumped an unconscious Zuko on his bed, Katara gasped as she saw the blood seeping onto the sheets.

"What happened?" the guard asked, leaping to his feet.

"Earth kingdom revolutionaries. Attacked some of our men while they were getting supplies," Aika said as she handed bandages to Iroh.

"They attacked the ship?" Katara asked.

Aika shook her head. "We were on land. Prince Zuko lied to you about the ship needing repairs so that you wouldn't try to escape while we were docked."

"How did Prince Zuko get hurt this bad?" the guard said as he started helping Iroh and Aika.

"By being an idiot."

"Aika, my nephew is not an idiot. He refused to leave his men behind and came to their defense," Iroh said, as he wrapped Zuko's stomach tightly.

"His life is more important than ours!" Aika retorted angrily.

"Not to him it isn't," came Iroh's calm reply.

"But…"

"Aika, go find anyone with medical experience. Prince Zuko needs a doctor," Iroh said.

Aika's face was flushed but she still managed a small bow before racing off. Meanwhile, Zuko's blood had already drenched the bandages placed over his wound.

"Couldn't we sear the wound closed?" the other guard asked.

"No. The damaged has probably hit some of his internal organs. If we simply close it, he'll bleed internally."

"Then what do we do?"

Iroh paused in his administrations. He hovered over his nephew's wound, and Katara saw the slightest tremor in his hands. There was an intense worry in his eyes as he quietly said to the guard, "I don't know."

Aika returned with what Katara supposed was a doctor who immediately went to Zuko's side and took his pulse. He began prodding a Zuko, worry growing in his face.

"What happened?" the doctor asked.

"Earth kingdom revolutionaries. They attacked our men. Prince Zuko came to their defense and held off the attackers and commanded everyone else to retreat to the ships. When most everyone was on board, Prince Zuko began to retreat as well but Aika was hit in the back by a rock and fell to the ground. As an Earth Bender was about to crush her, Prince Zuko took the blow in his side and blasted the rest of the revolutionaries backward. A lucky shot hit him in the head, knocking him out. Aika was able to get him back to the ship but we didn't realize how bad the wound was until the blood started pooling beneath him. The Earth Bender had stabbed him through his armor."

Katara's eyes had widened as Iroh had told the story. Zuko still hadn't stirred and the doctor was now frowning.

"I'm not sure what I can do," the doctor said. "I'm not an actual doctor, just a simple healer."

Iroh's shoulders slumped.

"There must be something," Aika said, desperately.

"I can help him," Katara said, quietly, shocked as the words passed through her lips. It seemed as no one had heard her at first, but then she saw Iroh's eyes on her. He came to her side and kneeled down in front of her.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"I…" Katara stumbled. She looked over at where Zuko lay, the doctor and Aika still debating. Her gaze hardened and she looked back to Iroh.

"I have healing abilities. I can save him," she said.

Iroh didn't even hesitate. He took out his keys and unlocked her wrists.

"What do you need?" he asked as she walked to Zuko's side, causing silence to come over everyone else in the room. She knelt next to his side. His shallow breathing barely reached her ear. Taking his wrist in his hand, she felt the light fluttering of his pulse.

"Water," she said after a moment of assessing him. "Aika, get me a big bucket of water. He'll need new bandages," she said, pointing to the other guard. "Something to ease the pain. Towels too!" she demanded of the healer. "I'll need something to stitch this up. Some type of suture, whatever you have!"

Aika dashed away immediately but the other two hesitated, unsure if they should obey her or not.

"Now!" Katara commanded.

Everyone but Iroh ran out the room, rushing to fetch what she needed. She turned back to Zuko.

"Just so you know," she said to him, wondering if he could hear her. "You owe me big time if I do this. I could've just let you die, no one would've known I could've helped you. Because you're the biggest jerk there ever was."

Iroh chuckled behind her. Katara turned and gave him a small smile before turning back to Zuko's wound.

Aika returned first with the water. As soon as the door swung open, Katara ripped off Zuko's bandages and pulled the water from the bucket before it was even set on the floor. Gloving her hands with the water, Katara took a deep breath and placed them over his wound.

Katara pulled the last stitch tight, closing the wound.

"Knife," she requested, holding out her hand. A short knife dropped into her palm and she used it to cut the thread from the needle before tying the thread ends together. She sat back on her heels and breathed a sigh of relief. Turning to where the bucket of water sat next to her, Katara rinsed off, getting all of Zuko's blood off her hands. She'd already checked his head and done all the healing she could there.

"If I could get a fresh bucket of water," Katara asked, "I'll check his wound and head one more time, see if I can do anything else."

Aika nodded before taking the bucket of bloody water and leaving.

Once more, Katara took Zuko's wrist in her hand and felt for his pulse. It was stronger now, and Zuko's breathing had evened out as she'd worked on him.

As Iroh kneeled beside her, Katara relinquished her hold on his wrist, allowing Iroh to clasp his nephew's hand.

"Thank you, Katara," he said, smiling at her.

"I just wish I could've done more," she replied, a frown still on her face.

"Katara, you have done so much already."

"He still might die, though. I couldn't even seal the wound shut. I don't even know if I healed it fully. His head still has damage, his wound could be infected, I might've missed something, and his stitches aren't very good..."

Iroh grabbed her hand with the one not grasping Zuko's, cutting her off.

"Thank you, Katara. No matter what happens, you've done us a great service."

Katara hesitated for a moment before nodding her acceptance of his gratitude.

Aika returned a moment later with fresh water. Katara pulled it out of the bucket and coated her hands. Glowing blue, she placed them over Zuko's wound, searching for any mistakes she may have made. She couldn't sense anything but that didn't erase the worried crease in her forehead. Katara knew if she'd been at full power, she would've known what to do for him so that he'd be almost sure to live. Now, with the moon waning, no practice, and little strength, Katara had barely been able to do anything. She'd failed to seal his skin back together, needing to stitch it up with a needle and thread. As she'd sewed him up, Zuko's face had scrunched in pain so she'd had the healer put a towel between his teeth to keep him from biting his tongue. That had been the only movement he'd made the whole time.

Katara pulled her hands away from him and stood up, still keeping the water clinging to her fists. Her gaze turned to see Iroh and Aika kneeling on the ground, all their attention focused on their Prince. Her eyes shifted to the healer and guard in the corner of the room, having a quiet conversation with each other. Katara's fingers twitched as she realized how easy it'd be to escape right now.

With a quick tug, water slowly flowed from the bucket and wrapped around her forearms. Katara lifted her hands slightly, preparing a stance of attack. She was just about to make a run for it when Zuko gave a little groan.

Katara hesitated.

 _He's injured,_ she thought. _I can't leave him, not when I've began to give him care. Especially since he still might die._

With a sigh, Katara sent the water back to the bucket and returned to the side of Zuko's bed. As she knelt down next to Iroh, he smiled at her knowingly, as if he knew exactly what she'd been about to do. Katara gave a small smile back before turning her head to focus on Zuko. He was still breathing deeply and appeared to be sound asleep, not yet conscious to the pain he was probably in.

"If you will continue to watch him, Katara," Iroh said suddenly, standing. "I will go fetch us some food to eat in here."

"That would be wonderful. Thank you, Iroh."

Iroh shook his head and guffawed a bit. "No, Katara. Thank you."

With that, he left the room, the healer trailing after him, peppering him with questions about what had happened on the shore.


	11. Chapter 11

Katara threw up a wave of water that burst into steam as Aika's fire hit it. She spun to the side, pulling more water over the side of the ship and slashed the water in a quick strike towards Aika. Aika's foot came up in a circle before stamping against the ground, flames shooting up.

Aika and Katara paused for a moment, both breathing heavy before Katara grunted and rushed at Aika, throwing her hands to her sides and calling water to her. As she approached Aika, she leapt, drawing a wave beneath her and riding it over Aika's head. She snapped it down towards Aika, throwing her to the ground. Katara lowered herself to the ship as Aika regained her breath.

Once Aika was on her knees, Katara pulled water into her arms in a tightly spinning sphere and dashed at Aika. Aika collapsed to her forearms as Katara came at her and Katara smiled, thinking she had won. Unfortunately, Aika wasn't out of tricks.

Shifting her weight to her arms, Aika swung her legs out as soon as Katara was in range, knocking her to the ground.

Aika leapt to her feet as Katara's head clanged against the ship's deck. With a swoop of Aika's arms, fire lit in her fists and she drove it towards Katara's face. Katara's eyes widened and she shoved herself out of the way.

The deck sizzled as the fire steamed against the water from Katara's attacks. Katara gritted her teeth and jumped to her feet. Both benders began circling each other, fists high, waiting for the other to attack.

Finally, Katara leapt into action. Swinging her whole body into the motion to get more speed and power, she pulled the same move Master Paku had pulled on her during their first battle. Water began streaming around her and Aika, cutting off any escape. With a yell, Katara threw her hands toward each other, water shooting past her and knocking Aika back. Aika didn't fall this time but she was thrown backwards many feet.

Katara smacked her palm against the deck, breathing out as she willed the water to freeze. Aika's feet became trapped for a moment, giving Katara enough time to call more water from the side of the ship. She raised it above her head grinning at the shocked look on Aika's face, knowing for certain this time she had won.

Something slammed into Katara from behind, breaking her concentration. The water crashed down on her and whoever had knocked her down. Sputtering and coughing, Katara and her attacker got to their knees. Wiping the water from her eyes, Katara found herself in shock to see a familiar face.

"Zuko?" she cried. "What are you doing? Why are you out of your room?"

"I could ask you the same question!" he snarled. "Guards, take her down!"

"Wait!" she tried, standing up.

"Prince Zuko!" Aika rushed over and put her hand on Katara's shoulder. "It's alright! She's not trying to escape, we were just sparring."

"What is she doing up on deck? What is she doing sparring with you?"

"Prince Zuko, you have awoken at last," one of the guards said.

"What is the waterbender doing up here?" Zuko demanded, throwing a finger in Katara's direction and wincing slightly.

"Careful!" Katara said. "You might pull out your stitches. You're not fully healed yet."

"She's right, Prince Zuko. You should still be resting," Aika said.

Zuko growled and grabbed Katara's wrist, making her yelp in surprise.

"I will rest when someone decides to tell me what is happening!"

Katara snapped the wrist Zuko was holding over her head, spinning and breaking his grip. Zuko, unbalanced, started to fall until Katara caught his shoulders, making sure to avoid getting anywhere near his injury. She helped him to straighten then relinquished her hold on him.

"Aika was helping me practice," Katara said, calmly.

"Why on earth would she be doing that?" Zuko huffed.

"Because my strength was limited. I couldn't heal you fully and Iroh decided it might help if I got in some practice time with my bending in case you got worse."

"You heal me?" Zuko snorted. "Not likely."

"It's true, Prince Zuko. She saved your life," Aika declared.

Zuko sharpened his gaze on Katara. A slight flush crept up her neck but she determinedly looked him coolly in the eye.

"Was this the deal for you saving me? You heal me and you get to go up on deck? I thought you would've bargained for more," Zuko said, spitefully.

"I didn't demand anything," Katara replied hotly.

"Then how else would you have been allowed up here?"

"Because I asked if she would like to," Iroh said calmly as he made his way over to his nephew.

"Uncle?"

"Katara did us a great service. It would have been dishonorable not to reward her. I asked if this was something she'd like to do while we waited for you to heal and she agreed."

"But…"

Zuko suddenly stumbled before he could finish what he'd been trying to say. Katara grabbed him again and helped ease him to the floor. Kneeling in front of him, Katara searched his face and could see exhaustion.

"He needs to get back to his room," she declared, feeling his forehead for fever. Zuko growled at her touch but was too weak to do anything else. "Someone bring me a bucket of water once he's there."

Two guards came up on Zuko's sides and helped to carry him down to his room. By the time they got him onto his bed, Zuko was breathing heavy and clenching his fists in pain. Katara lifted his head and placed his pillow beneath him as she sent the guards off for bandages and water.

"Is there where you extract your revenge, Waterbender?" Zuko said through gritted teeth.

Katara dropped his head against his pillows.

"Don't be ridiculous. I've spent too much effort trying to keep you alive and I refuse to let it go to waste. Now stop talking. You need to save your energy. Where are you in pain?"

"I thought I wasn't supposed to talk?"

"I don't have time for your snarky responses, and you probably don't either. I don't know how much longer you'll be able to stay awake, and I need to find out if I've healed you in all the places you've been injured."

Zuko almost smiled, she could've sworn he did, but then the smile turned into a scowl.

"I don't need your help," he said through gritted teeth.

"I sincerely wish you didn't but the healer you have here is useless for major injuries. Why you're hunting the Avatar with only him to help you is beyond me."

Zuko was beginning to pant from the pain.

"Banished princes don't get much choice when it comes to crew, waterbender," he hissed out.

Katara watched him for a minute, pity conflicting inside her, making her feel completely confused. It had been bad enough to find she was willing to heal him after everything that had happened. At least he was awake. As soon as he was well enough that there wouldn't be a relapse, she'd take off, forgetting everything that had happened.

The door opened and Aika appeared with the water Katara needed.

"Thank you Aika. Place it next to me, please," she asked.

Aika came to the side of Zuko's bed and set the bucket down before assuming the standard guard position. Katara arched her eyebrow at Zuko.

"Are you going to let me check your wound or do I need to take off your shirt myself?"

"Well seem to have recovered from seeing me shirtless," he mumbled.

"Ha, ha," Katara replied sarcastically before moving her hands forward in a threatening manner.

Zuko raised his in surrender before pulling off the tunic he wore. As he tried to toss it to the side, he gasped in pain and clutched his middle. Katara sprang forward, placing one hand over his and the other behind his neck.

"Back," she commanded, helping him lie against his pillows. Zuko eased down, sweat breaking out across his brow. Katara quickly recoated her hands and placed them against Zuko's chest. The blue glow that came with her healing began to light up the room and Zuko's pain began to ease from his face.

"While you're still coherent, I need you to tell me if you're hurt anywhere else," Katara insisted again.

"My head," Zuko grumbled. "I got hit in the head."

"Already checked. What else?"

"I think that covers it."

"Nowhere else is in pain?"

"My whole body's in pain."

"What did I say about smart remarks?"

"That was the truth!"

Katara smacked his arm.

"Ow!" Zuko rubbed his arm. "What kind of a doctor are you? You're not supposed to harm the injured!"

"You wouldn't be alive right now if weren't for me!"

"I'd almost be willing to take my chances without your help!"

A wicked grin appeared in Katara's face. "Almost?" she said, quietly.

Zuko's expression of dread was priceless. A cough sounded behind her and Katara turned to see Aika trying to hide a grin. Turning back to Zuko who was now glaring at Aika, Katara couldn't hold it back anymore and burst out laughing, prompting Aika to do the same. Zuko groaned which only made Katara laugh harder, and she clutched Zuko's arm as she bent her head, her stomach beginning to ache as she laughed and laughed.

"You done yet?" Zuko said with a roll of his eyes.

"Ad... admit it," Katara gasped. "You're glad I was here."

A wince from Zuko was all it took to bring Katara back to the present. She quickly coated her hands again and continued working on his injuries.

"I'm pretty sure the only places I was severely injured were my head and side," Zuko mumbled.

With a nod, Katara finished with his side and moved her hands to the sides of his head. He was healing nicely, but she was still worried. If Zuko tried to pull any more stunts like today, he might kill himself.

Iroh came into the room, a guard following with food. As Iroh excitedly exclaimed that Zuko was awake and asked him how he was feeling, Katara checked over Zuko once more before withdrawing her hands and shooting the water into the bucket. Sitting beside Katara, Iroh poured her a cup of tea and then one for himself and Zuko. She thanked him to which he smiled back. As she tipped the cup back, she noticed Zuko's intense gaze on her, causing her to blush for some unknown reason. She quickly finished off her cup and handed it back to him, refusing another cup.

"Uncle, did she actually…" Zuko started.

"Save you?" Iroh smiled. "Yes indeed. Miss Katara offered of her own free will, to heal you when we could do nothing. You would've died without her help."

Katara squirmed with the praise. "Only probably. You might've survived."

Iroh smiled at her but shook his head at Zuko. "No, you would've died," he whispered loudly to Zuko.

Zuko rolled his eyes.

"I know!" Iroh called suddenly, making Katara jump. "This calls for a…"

"We are not doing a music night or creating any more teas, Uncle!" Zuko cut him off.

The look of disappointment on Iroh's face made Katara purse her lips to keep from laughing. As she turned her head so they wouldn't see her, she saw Aika by the door, in much of the same state.

"What's the verdict of my injury?" Zuko asked when she finally turned back, after grinning quickly at Aika.

"You got hit in the head and hit in the gut. You're injured," Katara told him with a straight face.

Zuko gave her a flat look. "So, you get to make snarky responses but I can't?"

"Doctor's orders, Zuko," Katara smirked. "Smart patients listen to their healers so that they can get better faster," she said as she tapped his forehead gently. Her grin fell a moment later. "It's still bad. I was able to heal most of the internal damage, at least now you won't bleed from the inside, but there's still a lot of bruising, and your wounds are delicate right now."

Zuko nodded, staring across his room.

"You need to stay in bed. Your head took a severe blow. It'll heal quicker thanks to my healing, but if you jar it or do too much with it, you might permanently impair it. So for at least a week, don't read, don't plan, don't do anything that causes too much concentration, ok?"

"Well isn't that just perfect for you," Zuko grumbled.

"Zuko," Iroh said, warningly.

Katara looked at Zuko in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I mean now you get such a perfect opportunity to be saved. I apparently can't plan anything so your little Avatar friend is safe for me from now. Exactly how long are you going to incapacitate me like this?"

Katara's mouth dropped open in fury. Balling her hands into fists, she stood up from his bedside.

"I am a healer. I saved your life and now you accuse me of that? Just how heartless do you think I am?" she finished with a shout.

Zuko looked at her in shock as she leaned over him, hands on her hips.

"Don't you ever compare me with something you would've done," she hissed at him. "I would never be like you."

She turned away and tried discretely to wipe away the tears beginning to form. She was so distracted with her anger that she barely heard the bed rustling and jumped in shock when a warm hand touched her elbow. She whirled around to see Zuko extremely close to her. Redness began creeping up her neck as he gazed at her, so she scowled, hoping no one would notice her blush.

Out of the corner of her eye, Katara saw Iroh quickly shoving everyone out of the room before quietly shutting the door so that it was only Zuko and Katara left. Zuko scowled at the door for a moment before turning back to Katara, frowning slightly, his hand still on her elbow.

"Look," he began. "I'm sorry for what I said. You saved my life when you probably could've used this as a chance to escape. I shouldn't have said those things."

Katara blinked at him. "Are you apologizing to me?"

"Forgive me if I'm not very good at it," he said dryly, releasing her arm and sitting back down on the edge of his bed, clasping his hands on his knees. Katara kneeled in front of him, confused and concerned.

"From what I've seen from you, you care too much."

Katara opened her mouth to defend herself but Zuko beat her to the punch.

"I should know by now, you wouldn't do something that selfish after you'd healed me. You were right, that is something I would do and I'm sorry for comparing yourself to me," he finished through gritted teeth, as if the apology pained him.

Katara gazed at him for a moment before sighing.

"It's ok. Probably just your brain damage talking," she said with a quick smile before she became serious again. "I'm sorry too."

Zuko raised his eyebrow at her.

"What I said, about me never being like you? It's probably true, but I shouldn't have said it. Because I don't know if I'd be brave enough to do what you did to protect your soldiers. Zuko, you risked your life for them. There's hardly any leaders, Fire Nation or otherwise that would've done that."

"Don't try and use that to turn me into some type of person who can be saved from the dark path they're on," Zuko said. "Just because I care about the people I took from their homes in banishment with me doesn't mean I'm suddenly going to become some type of saint who tries to save the world. I'm still just trying to get home, and I can't do that without my crew."

Katara frowned slightly. "But you had a majority of your crew already safe here on the ship. If you really were heartless, you would've let them die. So why did you save them?"

Zuko hesitated for a moment before answering.

"You remember when I snuck into the North Pole and tried to…"

"Tried to kidnap Aang? Yeah I remember that."

Zuko winced slightly. "Yeah well I did that because before the invasion, Admiral Zhou had stolen my crew. They were forced to serve him in the Fire Nation fleet. They were lucky enough to have been on one of the surviving boats that barely had any damage, they sailed away quickly once the Avatar did his Avatar thing."

Zuko's eyes widened a bit, still a bit shocked at the power he'd seen from the Avatar. Katara knew he had to be, since she still was. She nodded at him, prompting him to continue his story.

"After the invasion failed, my crew could've returned home. They had the ship, their current commander had vanished, and they had nothing to keep them here anymore. My uncle and I were shocked when the ship found us. My crew picked us up and we began our search again as soon as we could.

"The day I first set foot on this ship, I promised myself I wouldn't lose them. If they gave up a chance to go home for my uncle and me, then I wouldn't give up until I could return them to the homeland."

Zuko shrugged when he'd finished, finally looking at Katara who was looking back at him in surprise.

She opened her mouth but before she could say anything, a knock sounded on the door. Zuko swung himself fully onto his bed before calling for them to enter, Iroh poking his head in, smiling when he saw them.

He walked inside, the other two guards and Aika following. Iroh came up beside Katara and asked if she needed anything.

"I'm just going to get some rest," she told him, standing and walking over to the pad Iroh had brought in for her a few days ago, lying down on her side, facing the wall.

She'd barely closed her eyes when she heard Zuko say her name softly.

"Thank you," he said when she'd turned back around.

Katara nodded, and then flipped back over. She tried to fall asleep but found herself conflicted and sleep eluded her. She deepened her breathing to try and lull her to sleep, a trick she'd taught herself when Sokka's snores had been too loud at night, but it didn't help. She found herself struggling with her wish to care for Zuko. After everything he'd done to her, to her brother, and to Aang, she shouldn't worry about anything that happened to him, yet she couldn't stop herself from wanting to care for him, for wanting to see the proud Firebender standing tall on his feet again.

"She's exhausted," Katara heard Iroh say.

Her eyes snapped open.

"She's been caring for you every hour since we got you back here."

"Why?" she heard Zuko say, disbelief in his voice.

"Katara is a kind person. She's a healer."

"She's also a fighter."

"That as well. And she fought to keep you alive. You're both more alike than you know. You're both stubborn, and both always insist you're right."

"She shouldn't have healed me. All I've done is make her life miserable."

"It's who she is. Don't be upset she showed kindness and mercy to you."

"Kindness is a weakness. People only take advantage of kind people."

"Kindness is never a weakness. It is a choice."

"What's happened while I've been out, Uncle?" Zuko asked, changing the subject.

"We've managed to avoid the Avatar, but he is persistent to get his friend back."

"Good. Keep evading him. I'll need to be at full strength if I'm to capture him and her brother. Now that I'm awake, we can start setting up another plan to trap them. Which would've been easier if you hadn't let Katara up on deck to practice!"

"Prince Zuko, she saved your life. It was the smallest form of repayment I could give. And Zuko, you need to rest. If you want to be at full strength, you need to do as Katara requests. Wait until then before coming up with a plan."  
"Fine."

Both men sighed.

"She should hate me," Zuko mumbled. "I just use her as bait and as soon as I don't need her anymore, I'll be dumping her off somewhere to fight her way home."

"You could at least let her have her brother when you leave her."

"No. I need her brother. If they're together, they'll come back for the Avatar. And I need a prisoner to use as leverage, and Katara is too powerful to hold down, especially if the Avatar were with her."

"You could still find another way."

"This is what I need. I have to get my honor back, whatever it takes," Zuko said.

Katara heard Iroh stand back up and closed her eyes again.

"I'll leave you to rest then. Aika, let's leave the Prince alone."

"Yes, sir."

The door opened and footsteps took everyone out before it shut again. Katara heard shuffling from Zuko and squeezed her eyes shut, anger beginning to take over as she processed what they'd said.

"You shouldn't have saved me," Zuko whispered before all noise in his room stopped. His breathing deepened and Katara knew he'd fallen back asleep.

 _Yeah,_ Katara thought. _I really shouldn't have._


	12. Chapter 12

A few days later, Katara slapped her hands angrily against Zuko's side, another healing session under way. She ignored Zuko's grunt of pain, focusing only on his wound to keep herself from killing him. She knew he was watching her but she ignored that too. After a few minutes of tense silence, Zuko shifted beneath her uneasily.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she snapped.

"Did you need to take a break?"

"No."

"Are you hungry?"

"NO."

"Did you need to go out on deck?"

"Shut up!" Katara yelled at him. Her concentration broke and the water over her hands shot everywhere.

Zuko was staring at her in shock as she breathed heavily, clenching her fists. She'd been angry for days now, and couldn't keep it contained any longer.

Taking a deep breath, Katara closed her eyes and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Zuko asked.

"Just leave me alone!"

Katara turned on her heal and ran. She heard shouts of alarm but didn't even care if anyone was following her or not.

 _Why do I care?!_ She screamed at herself. _I shouldn't want him to live! All he'll do is keep using me and keep trying to hurt Aang! So why can't I just leave him here?_

Katara burst outside onto the deck, sobbing. She ran to the rail and spat over it, bile and tears choking her. When she was done, she sank to the deck, hands still clenched on the rail, her tears still streaming down her face as she looked out across the ocean.

The waves were pounding against the ship, as if matching her mood. Wind blew her hair back from her face and she closed her eyes to it, trying to calm down.

A thump sounding next to her caused her to flinch and open her eyes. Zuko sat beside her, a robe the only thing protecting his bare chest. He was wincing and rubbing his side when he caught her looking. He arched an eyebrow but Katara only gazed at him coolly before turning back to the sea.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sounding exasperated.

"Didn't I say to leave me alone?"

"Didn't I tell you that you can't order me around on my ship?"

"Don't you know I don't care?"

"I don't care if you care or not. But you seemed almost happy before and now you're as angry as I've ever seen you but without any of the added escape attempts. What happened?"

Katara stayed stubbornly silent.

Zuko groaned, and she couldn't tell if it was at her or if he was in pain.

"Look, are you going to tell me it was pointless to come running after you and risk re-injuring myself to make sure you were alright?"

Katara snorted. "Please, you just wanted to make sure your bait didn't escape. Don't pretend to care about me."

"Ah. So, we're back to this?"

"We never left it!"

"Then why haven't you left? What's keeping you here? You just had a perfect opportunity to escape."

"Maybe because I actually have a heart. I saved your life. I'm not about to abandon my patient when they've might still die."

Zuko kept silent.

Lightning flashed on the horizon.

Iroh came out on deck, heading over to them.

"Prince Zuko, Katara. There's a storm coming," Iroh informed them in case they'd missed it. "You'd best get below."

Katara stood and walked past Zuko, nodding her thanks to Iroh before going back inside the ship. She made her way past Zuko's room and went down to the engines, sitting in a corner to be by herself. She curled up and rested her head on her knees and waited there for a long time.

After a while, Katara became aware of someone watching her. She looked up and saw Zuko up on a rail above her.

"I'm not going to wreck your ship. You don't need to watch me," she called, putting her head back down.

Footsteps sounded across the metal floor and Zuko came and sat next to her again.

"Is it so hard to believe I'm just worried about you?"

Katara snorted. "Is that a question?"

"You've never acted like this before."

"Oh, and you know me so well to say that. The only thing you're worried about is me escaping."

"I won't deny there is that, but it's not only for the reasons you think."

"You think I'd ever believe that? That your one drive isn't to capture Aang? That you'd do anything to get to him?"

"Whether you believe or not, it's the truth."

"Why won't you just leave me alone?"

Zuko waited a little longer before standing and leaving. She thought he had left when his voice called out again.

"I really am sorry, Katara."

Burying her head deeper, Katara felt like punching one of the engines. Everything he'd said had just made her more confused.

It could've been minutes, it could've been hours Katara waited there, but eventually she made her way back up to Zuko's room. The guards nodded to her and knocked on the door.

"Enter," Zuko called.

Katara walked inside to see Zuko sitting up in his bed, reading a chart. He put the chart down when he saw who it was and watched her as she made her way to her mat.

"Are you alright?" he asked, once she'd settled.

"No. So stop asking and pretending to care."

"What happens if I'm not pretending?"

"Then I know you're lying."

Zuko sighed, angrily, throwing his chart across the room. He got off his bed and stomped over to Katara, crouching down in front of her.

"I am not an evil person, Katara. No matter what you think."

Scowling, she looked away from him. Zuko huffed in annoyance and went to the door, opening it to speak with the guards.

"One of you, bring us something to eat," he barked.

"Yes, sir."

Zuko slammed the door and went to his desk, grabbing some more charts before hoping back up on his bed. He seemed furious as he went through them, scowling.

"I think we've already established that I don't think you're evil," she said quietly.

Zuko snapped his attention on to her.

"What?"

Katara was furious with herself for speaking and her voice snapped more than she meant it to when she continued.

"We've been over this, Zuko. I don't think you're evil and I don't think you're a monster. I think you're struggling and you don't know what to do."

"Then why are you always so angry with me?"

"Because no matter what's happened to you, it doesn't justify what you're doing!"

"You don't know anything about me."

"I know you had a chance to walk away from this choice, and you didn't."

"How could you know that? Maybe I didn't have a choice!"

Katara flinched at his raised voice. If Zuko really thought he didn't have a choice, he'd feel justified in anything he did. She needed to leave, but maybe being here could have a silver linning. Keeping calm might be the only way she could help Aang and Sokka right now, the only way she might be able to protect them from Zuko. She felt the rocking of the ship and began breathing in time with it until her voice was soft again.

"Everyone always has a choice, Zuko."

She kept her eyes on his until his gaze fell, looking ashamed. A knock sounded on the door and a guard came in with their food, setting it in the middle of the room. Katara scooted over and took her plate and began eating. Zuko took longer to make his way over and once he had his food, he returned to his bed to eat, sitting cross-legged. As Katara watched him, she noticed the careful movements and posture he used to avoid aggravating his wound.

"How's the…?"

Zuko looked up to see Katara gesturing to his side.

"It's getting better. I don't notice it much anymore."

"Do you need me to check it?" She swallowed the bite in her mouth before setting down her plate and standing.

"I guess you didn't finish that other session this morning," Zuko relented, setting down his own plate.

He pulled off his robe and shirt before swinging his legs over the side and sitting on the edge of the bed. Katara pulled water from the bucket that had been left and coated her hands, sitting beside him. She moved the now glowing water over his side. As she worked, she could tell he was healing and so far, there hadn't been any signs of infection. Pulling her hands away, she rose to her knees and turned his head towards her, running her hands over his head.

"Your side is doing better, but it's still delicate. I'd say your concussion is pretty much gone but try not to jar your head too much."

She sighed and pulled back, flicking the water back into the bucket. For some reason, she didn't get up instantly, instead turned herself so that she was sitting beside Zuko.

"I'm sorry," she said after a moment of silence.

Zuko looked up at her, startled. "Sorry for what?"

Katara shrugged. "I'm sorry I couldn't do better."

"Do better with what? Healing me? Katara, if it wasn't for you, I'd be dead," he said, not sounding at all happy about the fact he was in debt to her.

"I'm a healer and I almost failed."

"You can't blame yourself for that. You would've been at full power if not for me."

"I still should've been able to do more."

Zuko looked down at his clasped hands. There was silence for a long while and Katara felt tears pricking her eyes, but she refused to cry.

"Are you upset because you didn't do a perfect job, or that you didn't do a job good enough for you to feel justified in escaping?" he whispered.

Katara inhaled sharply. She jumped away from Zuko and shot over to her mat, breathing heavily.

 _Don't cry. Don't cry._

She heard Zuko get up and was instantly wary, but all he did was put on a shirt and leave the room. She waited for him late into the night, but after he hadn't returned for a long time, she felt her eyes drooping.

Katara woke to being tossed from her mat and rolling into Zuko's bunk. She shook her head, dazed and looked up, ready to fight whoever had attacked her, but no one was in the room except her. It took another rocking of the boat for her to understand.

Leaping to her feet as soon as the ship stabilized, she dashed out the door, noting how the guards usually stationed there were gone. Katara ran until the ship was rocked again, throwing her off her feet as she raced up the ramps leading to the deck. Recovering quicker this time, Katara took off again, her senses tuned for when the next rocking came. When it did, she was able to grab a beam for support and stay on her feet.

Eventually she made it to the door that opened up to the deck. Water was seeping beneath it, making its way down below. Katara collected it around her arms before shoving open the door.

It was chaos on deck. Wind, rain, lightning attacked the ocean ferociously. There was no mercy for the little ship. The crew did its best to secure it but nothing they did made a difference. She could see someone yelling at her but couldn't make out who it was or what they were saying. Using her bending, Katara got most of the rain and seawater out of her eyes to see Zuko running at her, pointing below deck and screaming something.

Believing him to be ordering her back down, she stubbornly refused, preparing for a fight as Zuko rushed her, but he simply ran past her and grabbed the door she'd left open. Realizing he was trying to shut it, Katara jumped forward to help him. Together they managed to close it and keep more water from getting below deck.

"What are you doing up here?" Zuko yelled at her.

"I was getting tossed around down there!" she shouted back. "How'd we end up in this?"

"I've never seen one this bad!" he said, ignoring her question, scanning the sky. Rain was pouring down his face as he looked out across his ship.

"Look out!" he suddenly screamed, bolting towards the edge of the ship.

Katara looked to where he was running and saw a huge wave about to slam the ship, right where two of Zuko's men were. Somehow, he made it to them before the wave and managed to shove them out of the way.

Just in time for the wave to hit and sweep Zuko away.

Katara screamed Zuko's name as she watched him get taken overboard.


	13. Chapter 13

Katara leapt forward, skidding in the water to get there faster. She reached the rail to see a miracle.

Zuko clutched the rail with one hand, barely hanging on. Another wave came at the ship furiously. Katara nearly screamed again. Just before the wave hit, she threw herself halfway over the railing and snatched his hand. Water rushed over them both but Katara refused to let him go. As the water pulled away, Katara yelled and water shot up from the ocean in response to her call, lifting Zuko up over the rail. Still clutching hands, he slammed into her, knocking both of them to the ground. Katara shook the water from her eyes, before shoving Zuko from off on top of her.

She got to her feet quicker than he did, in time to see another wave coming. Katara glared at it and sank into her bending stance. With a powerful thrust of her hand, the wave was thrown backwards, away from the ship.

Spinning, Katara sent a slightly different thrust to a wave coming at them from the other side, hardening it into ice and smacking it against other waves coming towards them in the ocean. A slight lull gave her a chance to drop it and take a few deep breaths. She watched as the waves began to build again and stared them down. As they got close to the ship, Katara used both hands and made a sweeping motion that spun her around in a circle. An enormous wave grew, tossing down the other waves and protecting the ship.

"Why aren't we getting out of here?" she shouted to Zuko, who was staring at her in shock. Her question snapped him back to the present.

"The engines have damage. We've got engineers down there but so far, they haven't had any luck. When the waves started hitting, water got in, malfunctioning some of the engines. The power they have right now is barely enough to keep us from being thrown around with the waves."

Katara threw another wave out in front of the ship and used it to push the water back.

"We have to get out of this storm before it tears the ship apart," she said with a grunt.

"Do you think you could pull the water out of the engines?" Zuko yelled.

With Katara keeping the waves at bay, the firebenders now had a chance to light fire and keep it going. They began bursting apart some of the waves coming at them, helping Katara before another huge wave came at them. Katara barely had time to stop it before it doused them and rocked the ship. Another wave snuck up from the other side that Katara didn't catch. As it slammed into the front corner of the ship, the ship spun a bit, knocking everyone across the deck. Screams and shouts rose up as Katara leapt to her feet again to take down another wave.

She helped Zuko to his feet as soon as the wave was subdued. Fear was in his eyes, distracting Katara so that she didn't notice the wave that came up behind them. Zuko yelled and leapt into her, slamming her against the rail and holding her there as the wave swept over them. They came up sputtering and gasping in time for Katara to separate herself from Zuko and tear apart the next one coming for them.

"C'mon!" Zuko grabbed her hand and together they navigated the slippery deck until they made it to the door leading below. Zuko yanked it open and ushered her inside before following and slamming the door shut, giving them a moment of peace.

Katara immediately pulled the water spilling down the steps back up and froze as much as she could in a block near the door to keep it from any further damage. Zuko took off down the stairs, Katara right on his heels as they headed for the engines.

The noise from the engines was nearly as bad as the roar outside. Katara stood on a catwalk above them and watched as engineers frantically pulled levers and tightened screws. She raised her hands above them and began dragging water from them, avoiding places it seemed water was supposed to be. A large orb grew before her until she had collected everything she dared risk.

"Is that it?" Zuko yelled when she stopped bending.

Katara nodded, continuing to hold the water in front of her. They watched in sick anticipation as the engineers continued working, waves continuing to rock the ship.

An engineer finally looked up at Zuko and shook his head.

"It wasn't the only problem," Zuko said, pounding his fist against the rail.

"There has to be something we can do," Katara whispered to herself. An idea came to her. Sokka would be so proud, especially since it came from him.

By the time Zuko looked back at her, Katara had taken off, rushing back up the stairs. Even with the rocking of the ship, she remained sure footed, intent on saving this ship.

Bursting out the door at the top of the stairs, she didn't even take the time to shut the door as she raced through the storm to the back of the ship. She bended as many waves back as she could as she ran until she reached the rail there. Putting her back to the rail, she iced her legs to the deck to keep her from being tossed. Katara took a deep breath. A wave washed over her but she didn't break her concentration.

With a yell, she thrust her hands out and the ship blasted forward. The sudden movement jerked her back but she kept at it, gritting her teeth. She was using the same trick she'd done with Sokka to get onto this ship, only this time, it was about a thousand times harder. The ship was moving steadily, but with the ocean fighting her, Katara was struggling. Zuko appeared at the back, gapping at her.

"How...?"

"What's the fastest way out of here?" Katara gasped.

Zuko's gaze cleared and he ran off, coming back quickly with someone else.

"The storm is blowing West," The man shouted, arm held up against the spray. "If you can turn the ship that way," he said, using his other arm to point to the left, "it'll take us the opposite way, through the eye and out the other side."

"Are you insane? She'd be fighting against the storm the whole time! We don't even know how big this storm is!"

Katara ignored Zuko's protest and began turning the ship diagonal to the storm. She knew she didn't have the strength to go full West and fight every wave, but this way, the ship should be able to coast across a few swells.

"Katara!"

"I can do this Zuko!" she shouted, pushing the ship forward again, grunting with the effort.

When the ship was moving straight enough again she was able to look up at Zuko and saw he didn't believe her at all.

"I have to do this! It's our only choice!"

Zuko's eyes suddenly locked onto something behind Katara. With a roar, he punched his fist out over her shoulder, fire exploding outwards, blasting apart the wave coming up behind Katara.


	14. Chapter 14

Steaming water droplets hit Katara's face and arms as she continued to move the ship.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Zuko asked.

She nodded, to worried about exhausting herself to speak. Her breathing was already becoming labored and she could feel her muscles tightening as she flexed them. Zuko glanced over her once more before nodding back. He raced off, the man he'd brought following.

Katara was left alone. The ocean raged against her, as if furious she was fighting it. Rain ran in streams across Katara's face, seeping into her mouth every time she breathed. She strained her arms and fought the ocean, wind, and rain, pushing the ship forward. Her focus was so intense, she barely heard the shouts or saw the blasts of fire coming off the side of the ship as soldiers took over her job of fighting the waves. Her breathing turned ragged and tore at her throat. She was no longer sure if she was getting more air than water into her lungs as the coughing fits started, water choking her.

With a quick wave of her hand, she swiped all the water away from her face and took several deep breaths before going back to pushing the ship forward. She tried to breathe through her nose but she couldn't get enough air that way, so every few minutes she had to relax the movement of the ship so that she could breathe.

The man who'd been with Zuko and sent her West was back with a compass and a chart. He tried to make a path for her as best he could but the rain and wind destroyed his chart. He nearly lost his compass as well as the waves rushed over them both.

"Just leave me the compass," Katara cried out after he was practically sent overboard for the third time.

The man shook his head. "It'll fly into the ocean in a second and you need both hands to move the ship."

Katara took another pause, water wrapping around the compass. She placed it directly in front of her before freezing the water around over the deck.

"Go!" she shouted.

The man took off just before another wave hit. Katara sputtered before gritting her teeth and shoving the ship forward again, checking the compass that she was headed mostly West.

Hours seemed to pass and the storm only seemed to get worse. As Katara continued to bend, her vision began to darken. The only thought she could hold in head was to get out of the storm. Her arms had long ago turned numb and she wasn't even sure if she could move her fingers any more.

A huge wave, towering above her struck her in the side. She hadn't even realized it was coming for her until it crashed against her, throwing her into the rail beside her. Her body was beaten mercilessly against the metal, jarring her head and bruising her ribs. Any concentration she'd had was lost and the ship halted any forward movement.

She was shuddering as she rose to her feet, her strength practically gone. Bile rose in her throat and she dimly realized one of her feet had come loose from the ice locked around it. Eventually she thought to check the compass, thankfully finding it still latched to the deck.

"Katara!"

Raising her head, she saw Zuko running at her.

"What happened? Are you alright?" he shouted at her, taking her by her shoulders and checking her over.

His yells woke her up a little and she was able to shake him off her, pushing him back.

"I'm fine," she told him firmly. "Just got knocked a little by a wave."

Icing her boots again, she took up her bending stance and once more flared her arms to her side. Getting the ship moving was so much harder this time, but she did it. She closed her eyes in concentration, only opening them to check the compass occasionally. Even that little effort was tiresome.

A wave hit the ship somewhere, jolting Katara again. The bile shot to her mouth and suddenly, Katara was on her knees, heaving as the water she'd been forced to swallow came back up.

Katara had figured Zuko had left again and was shocked when she felt his hands grab her shoulders, supporting her, keeping her from falling in her own vomit. He held back her braid as she emptied her stomach, kneeling next to her.

After a few more moments, the heaving stopped and Katara was able to take a trembling breath. She could feel herself shaking against Zuko's hands. When she looked at him, she saw worry in his eyes. Trying to calm him, she tried for a smile, but she knew it was weak at best.

"You can't keep doing this."

Katara shook her head and pulled her legs beneath her, preparing stand.

"What are you doing?"

"Help me up," she insisted, holding her hand out.

"Katara…"

Katara glared at him, hand held out stubbornly. Almost as if he was a puppet, Zuko jerked his arm forward and pulled her to her feet. As another wave hit the ship, Katara collapsed against him, Zuko holding her steady. She tried to push off of him, but Zuko refused to let go. He held her up as she iced her feet and helped her get into her stance. Dimly, Katara realized how strong Zuko's grip was and the balance he had as the ship continued rocking. As she got the ship moving again, Zuko gently released her. Katara couldn't help but feel like she'd lost something as the warmth his arm had provided vanished. She shook her head slowly to try and clear her mind again before pouring every ounce of strength she had into fighting this storm.

As she struggled, Katara saw out of the corner of her eye, Zuko blasting away waves that came for her. She bit her tongue against the pain and pushed harder. The ship moved westward, both of them battling the ocean's fury. She wasn't sure if it was because of Zuko or because they were finally reaching the end of the storm but moving the ship seemed to become slightly less hellish as she kept struggling.

A loud noise came from the ship, making Zuko pause. Katara kept bending but she locked eyes with Zuko and saw his confusion and worry. His gaze went up to the tower and his eyes widened. Katara followed his gaze and saw smoke and steam coming from the pipes that ran up there. With a large moan, the ship started moving on its own, causing Katara to almost fall again.

"Katara!" Iroh came rushing around to the back of the ship. "The engines are working again. The storm has lessened, we've almost made it out. You can rest now."

Katara smiled and dropped her arms.

"Oh good," she said. Then she passed out.


	15. Chapter 15

Katara woke groggily, blinking her eyes. She was back in Zuko's room, but on the opposite side of where she usually was. As she shifted her head around, she realized she was back in Zuko's bed. She tried to raise herself up and every muscle exploded in pain.

"Ow," she said quietly, shutting her eyes until the pain passed.

Once her eyes were open again, she looked across the room, trying to keep herself from moving too much. Looking across the room, she found Zuko sprawled across her mat, snoring quietly.

"Zuko," she groaned. She heard him mumble something so she called his name louder.

Zuko shot up, looking around in bewilderment. When his eyes finally fell on her, something changed in his face, panic leaving his eyes.

"Thank goodness," Zuko said as he rushed over to her side. "You're awake."

"I feel awful. What happened?"

"You drove yourself to exhaustion. Your body shut down once the engines were back on and you've been asleep for three days. We were worried you'd never wake up."

"Did we make it out of the storm?"

Zuko nodded. "We didn't even have to go very far once you passed out. You took the ship through pretty much the whole storm by yourself."

"Yay," Katara said wearily, shutting her eyes again. "I think I'm going to go back to sleep now."

Katara's eyes snapped back open when she felt Zuko take her hand.

"Katara," he said quietly, leaning close to her. "Thank you. My men owe you their lives."

Clearing her throat, she searched for a witty comeback but was too tired and flustered to think of anything except how warm his hand was in hers. She nodded in response and shut her eyes again.

Zuko released her hand and Katara heard him leave the room before she her mind went dark as she fell asleep.

The next time she woke up, Zuko was waiting for her with a pot of tea. As he saw her open her eyes he lurched forward, nearly spilling it. He poured it in a cup and set the pot on the floor before lifting Katara's head so she could drink. She took a sip and would have spat it out if she'd had the energy.

"That's really cold," she muttered, still exhausted.

Zuko drew back and put his hands around the cup. With a quick breath, the tea was heated, steam rising off the edge of the cup. He lifted her head again and Katara cautiously took a sip. Surprised by the taste, she quickly gulped more down until Zuko pulled back and told her to take it easy.

"I had no idea tea could taste so good," she admitted.

"You can thank Uncle. He studies tea almost as much as he ever did firebending. He said this pot would help relax your muscles and restore some of your depleted energy."

"Oh, give me some more then," Katara demanded, lifting her head as much as she could.

Zuko smiled, an actual smile that surprised her almost as much as when he'd held her hand. He helped lift her up enough to drink without spilling on herself once more.

"Just take it slow this time, alright. You haven't eaten in three days; your body needs time to adjust and I do not want you throwing up on my bed."

"I think it's too late for that," Katara said wearily after she'd had a few more sips. "I'm pretty sure I got throw up on my dress so your bed is probably already contaminated."

"About that…"

Katara stared at him confused before suddenly realizing the clothes she had on didn't feel like her watertribe outfit. She yanked her arms from beneath the blanket to find them draped in red.

"What am I wearing?" she exclaimed in panic.

"A robe and a spare guard uniform. Aika was the one who got you changed," Zuko assured her.

"Where's my dress, Zuko?"

"Getting cleaned. As soon as you're strong enough, you can change back into it."

"Why didn't you leave me in it?" Katara felt almost as if she'd been betrayed, taken from what was left of her tribe.

"Because you probably did get throw up on it, and because it was soaking wet. I couldn't let you get hyperthermia after everything you'd done for us."

Katara remained silent, unable to argue with that logic. She didn't have to like it, however, so she glared at Zuko, angry that she had to wear fire nation garb. Zuko rolled his eyes at her.

"I promise, as soon as they're cleaned and dry again and you're strong enough, you'll be back in your peasant clothes," Zuko said.

Katara choked in anger. "Peasant clothes?" she shouted, just before catching a glint in Zuko's eyes. "Oh, you are absolutely terrible," she muttered. Zuko held back a smile before pouring her another cup of tea and heating it for her. He continued helping her sip, and Katara could almost feel herself relaxing a bit. She couldn't tell if it was from the tea, or if she was finally readjusting to everything that had happened these last few days.

"What you did out there was impressive," Zuko admitted after a while.

Katara smirked. "Impressive? I moved a steel ship through a storm all by myself and all I get is impressive? I'd like to see you try and do that one day."

"Alright, alright. It was incredible. I'll confess I had no idea waterbending could do so much."

"If you think that's impressive, you should see what we're like under the full moon. My master could create whirlpools in the air at full power."

"I remember seeing someone do that. He was your Master?"

"Yeah, Master Paku."

Katara smiled at the memory of her master. Although he'd been prejudice at first, she'd proven herself and couldn't have been happier that she'd received the privilege to learn from him.

"What was your master like, Zuko?"

Zuko's face clouded and Katara immediately felt guilty.

"Sorry," she said quickly. "I didn't know it was a touchy subject. What about your uncle? He trains you now, right? What's he like as a teacher?"

Zuko relaxed a bit, enough to show the traces of a smile.

"Uncle is...one of the hardest teachers to work with."

"He pushes you a lot?"

Zuko gave a true smile then. "Not in the way you're thinking. He definitely made me sweat, but it was harder to understand his methods. He'd just sit there drinking tea the whole time and making me redo the basic forms again and again while saying some weird phrase that never made any sense. It was infuriating! But it turns out he was right to teach me the way he did. The things he taught me was what I needed to work on and what saved me in my duel with Admiral Zhao."

"You dueled Admiral Zhao?"

"A long time ago. And before you ask, yes I did win."

"But you left him alive?"

Zuko went quiet and Katara felt herself growing eager. She'd seen that Zuko had a heart for his men and that he had the capacity to be good. It excited her to think that maybe there was even more to him than she'd seen so far.

"It was honorable," he finally whispered.

Katara smiled and, feeling very daring, placed her own hand on Zuko's.

"I'm glad you let him live, even if it meant more trouble for us," she told him with a smile, to let him know she was teasing. Zuko however, kept his eyes locked on her hand and after a moment Katara continued.

"What you did takes more strength than beating him. You are a very honorable person, Zuko."

Zuko finally smirked. "Prince Zuko, to you."

Katara laughed, though it hurt to do so. "The day I call you Prince is the day I become Queen of the Earth Kingdom."

"I'll hold you to that. The first words out of your mouth after you've been crowned better be, 'please forgive me, Prince Zuko, for always failing to call you by your official title'," he finished in a falsetto voice to imitate her, getting another laugh from Katara.

"You'd have to be bowing to me then," Katara replied.

Zuko's face blanched at the thought before easing into a half smile. Katara smiled back before realizing her hand was still on Zuko's. She began to draw it back but Zuko was faster, flipping his hand over and catching hers. Both Katara and Zuko had identical looks of shock at what he'd done, but neither pulled away.

A knock sounded on the door a few moments later, and Zuko's hand shot away, leaving Katara feeling cold. She sank back against her pillows, slowly as Zuko went to open the door, revealing his uncle with a few guards. Immediately Aika leaned into the room to look for Katara. Zuko opened the door further when they saw Katara was awake, and the group strode in, coming to Katara's side, lining up. There were about eight people all together, making the room rather crowded.

As one, the group put a fist on the bottom of their palm and bowed to her. Katara's eyebrows went up in surprise but she nodded back, trying to copy the whole hand-fist thing. The glint in Zuko's eyes and his half smirk let her know she'd definitely done it wrong, but everyone else accepted her effort. Iroh stepped forward first to personally thank her.

"Katara, thank you for everything. You could've saved yourself, but you instead chose to risk your life in saving the lives of those on this ship. Words cannot express our gratitude."

The people behind him nodded fervently. Katara smiled hesitantly at them, still in shock from everything that had happened in the last two minutes.

"We'd like to thank you, if we could. One of the Fire Nation's holiday's is coming up and we would like to use that day to celebrate what you did."

"You really don't have to do that, it's fine! I was happy to do what I could," Katara protested. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zuko cross his arms at her and take a step forward but Aika beat him into trying to reason with Katara.

"Please, Katara," she said. "Let us thank you for this. You saved everyone's life aboard this ship. Everyone here wishes to tell you how grateful they are to still have the chance to return to our homeland. You gave this to us, let us give something back."

Katara hesitated.

"Please, Miss," one of the guards said quietly. "Let us have a way to repay you."

The young man gazed at her fervently, hope in his eyes, and Katara found herself nodding to him. He instantly grinned, as well as most of the the other people in the room.

"Perfect," Iroh said, as he began ushering the guards out. "We'll let you get your rest now. The celebration will be in two days."

"Two days?" Katara cried.

Iroh smiled at her before hastening out, shutting the door behind him. Katara's protests started up again until she heard a sound rarer than a blue moon. Katara snapped her gaze to see Zuko leaning against the wall, chuckling.

"You should see your face right now," he laughed.

Katara felt her heart beat harder at his laughing and quickly rolled her eyes at him.

"I feel like I got tricked. I wasn't expecting it to be so soon."

"He certainly caught you. There's no getting out of this now."

Zuko pushed himself from the wall and crossed over to his bed. He lifted the teapot and refilled her cup, heating it with his firebending again. He sat on the edge of his bed and helped lift Katara again so that she could drink.

"What holiday is it?" Katara asked between sips.

Zuko's smirk looked pure devilish.

"As far as I know, there isn't a holiday celebrated by the Fire Nation for another three months."

Katara froze, prompting Zuko to chuckle again.

"You mean…?"

"Uncle tricked you? Absolutely. Although if he had his way, he'd probably make the day a holiday, along with tea-day, and pia-sho day. He likes to celebrate things."

Katara groaned. "That was a cheap shot," she grumbled. "He knew I'd never agree to a celebration for just me."

"Uncle is a very wise, willy old man. You're lucky to get out of this with only a day of celebrating. I'm sure he wanted to give you a whole week, buy you a thousand useless things, and name a star after you. The only reason he didn't is because he knew how much you'd hate it."

Katara's head felt like it was spinning. "Name a…? Can he really do that?"

"Easy," Zuko said, seeing her dizziness. He helped her settle back down onto the bed, setting her cup on the ground as he tucked her in. "I honestly don't know if he'd name a star after you. If he came up with the idea, he would. Probably unofficially but he'd do his best. Or he'd just create a new tea brew and name it after you. He likes to do strange things like that."

"I think I'm going to be sick."

"Don't you dare ruin this bed. This accommodation is not permanent."

"No, Zuko, I really think I might throw up."

In a flash, Zuko had her in his arms, carrying her out through the ship to the small wash room near his bedroom. As he held her hair back as she retched, she couldn't help but feel ashamed as he watched her be sick again.

When she was done, Zuko set her against the metal wall and pulled a rag from the cupboard in the washroom and used it to wipe her mouth. He slipped out of the room and returned with her cup, filling it with water to help her get the taste out of her mouth. After she'd had about a fourth of the cup, he set it on the counter and lifted Katara again, ignoring her protests that she could walk.

"You have a party being held for you in two days. You need to be healed by then which means a lot of rest. You'd think a healer would know that."

"A healer usually doesn't get tricked into going to parties she shouldn't have to go to."

Zuko's chuckle blew across Katara's forehead. They made it to his room without Zuko so much as losing his breath, and he was able to gently lay her back into his bed. He pulled her blankets up around her chin for her and brushed away a few strands of her hair. His actions were confusing her, and with her body and mind still recovering from the strain she'd put it through, she couldn't sort through what was happening. It frustrated her as Zuko sat beside her bed, watching her.

"You ok?"

Katara realized her expression must've turned sour and did her best to relax. She nodded.

"Just tired of this. I don't like feeling pent up and useless," she told him.

"Keep resting. You'll be back to your normal bossy self in no time."

Katara's mouth dropped. "I am not bossy!"

Zuko shrugged at her, as if to say _you can believe it or not._ Katara wanted to argue with him, but that would've proved she was bossy, and she was too exhausted to put up a fight. So she huffed a little before turning her back on him and closing her eyes. Sleep still took a while to come, and through all that time, she didn't hear Zuko move from her side. Once she woke again, she'd find him there still, asleep on his chair in the exact same place, guarding over her.


End file.
